LOOM  - FIXERS' 
MANUAL 


DyiiE 

UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 


FRIENDS  OF 
DUKE  UNIVERSITY 
LIBRARY 

GIFT  OF 


...... Ivey 


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I 


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TEXTILE  DESIGNER, 

AND  PU3LISHER  OF  TEXTILE  WQRSS. 


T'HE 


n 

ill 


M-FIXERS’  MANUAL, 


CONTAINING 

RULES  AND  INSTRUCTIONS 
FOR  SETTING  UP  AND  OPERATING 

the  Crompton,  and  the  Knowles  looms; 

THE  PRODUCTION  OF  CLOTH  ON  CAM  LOOMS ; SPREADING 
THE  WARP  THREADS  IN  THE  PROCESS  OF  WEAVING; 
AND  OTHER  VALUABLE  INFORMATION  TO 
LOOM-FIXERS,  WEAVERS,  AND  ALL 
OTHERS  INTERESTED  IN 
WEAVING. 


Compiled  and  Revised,  by  A.  A.  BALDWIN. 


BRASHER  FALLS,  NEW  YORK: 

A.  A.  BALDWIN,  PUBLISHER. 


Entered  according-  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  18S3,  by 
A.  A.  BALDWIN, 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


ERRATA. 

Page  io,  3d  line  from  bottom,  for  ‘‘persistant"  read  persistent. 

“ 15,  10th  line  from  top.  for  “an  wide”  read  an  inch  wide. 

“ 19,  for  “91”  read  19. 

“ 21,  nth  line  from  bottom,  for  “threfore”  read  therefore. 

“ 23,  nth  line  from  bottom,  for  “raises”  read  raise. 

“ 24,  12th  line  from  bottom,  for  “hight”  read  height.  Same  page, 

last  line,  for  “raise”  read  raised;  for  “tuched”  read  touched. 

“ 56,  4th  line  from  bottom,  for  “and"  read  and. 

“ 61,  12th  line  from  top.  for  “ink”  read  ing. 

“ 71,  1st  line,  for  “part”  read  parts. 


677.o2.g2. 

,15/glL 


PREFACE. 


The  publisher  of  this  work,  having  had  numerous  in- 
quiries for  back  numbers  of  the  Designer  & Weaver, 
published  in  1881 — 2 while  under  his  management,  and 
not  being  able  to  supply  that  demand,  he  has,  after  many 
requests,  decided  to  compile  and  revise  into  book  form 
most  of  the  articles  written  under  the  nom  de  plume  of 
“X.,”  and  “Weaver,'5  which  appeared  in  the  paper  dur- 
ing that  time.  Being  desirous  of  issuing  such  a work  in  a 
more  complete  manner  than  these  articles  alone  would 
make,  he  has  added  such  other  reprints  and  original  mat- 
ter as  he  deemed  would  be  of  special  interest  to  the  craft. 

In  justice  to  all,  the  publisher  would  say  that  “X.”  is 
the  nom  de  plume  of  Mr.  A.  X.  Whipple,  of  Greenville, 
R.  I.,  and  that  “Weaver55  is  the  nom  de  plume  of  Mr.  E. 
M.  Sinclair,  of  East  Rochester,  X.  H. 

The  chapters  on  Loom  Fixing,  in  reference  to  the 
Crompton  Loom,  by  Mr.  Whipple,  have  been  somewhat 
changed  in  their  compiling  and  revising,  by  taking  from 
and  adding  to,  so  that  they  may  not  be  recognized  in 
some  instances,  yet  their  general  meaning  remains  the 
same.  These  changes  the  publisher  has  deemed  advisable 
in  order  to  make  them  more  comprehensible. 

The  introductory  chapter  and  those  on  the  Knowles 
Loom,  also  the  last  one  in  the  book,  are  by  Mr.  Sinclair, 
and,  in  stating  that  it.  is  to  the  above  gentlemen  the  pub- 


VI 


PREFACE. 


lisher  owes  his  gratitude  for  the  principal  subject-matter 
of  this  work,  and  also  that  it  needs  no  further  recommen- 
dation as  to  its  practicability,  he  feels  as  though  it  is  hut 
doing  justice  to  those  who  merit  it. 

To  further  add  to  the  value  of  the  work,  he  has  re- 
printed from  the  Industrial  Record  of  1S74,  the  “Buies 
for  the  Production  of  Cloth  on  Cam  Looms,”  by  “E.  P.” 
Also  from  the  Textile  Manufacturer  of  1876,  the  “Spread- 
ing the  Warp  Threads  in  the  Process  of  Weaving,”  by 
“A  Practical  Man.”  These  articles  have  also  been 
somewhat  revised,  hut  their  general  substance  remains 
the  same. 

In  placing  this  little  work  before  the  manufacturing 
public,  the  publisher  believes  he,  is  supplying  a long  felt 
want,  and  as  to  how  far  he  has  succeeded  in  this  under- 
taking, he  leaves  it  for  the  craft  to  decide. 


A.  A.  B. 


C 0 X T E N T S . 


PART  I. 

THE  CROMPTON  LOOM. 

Page 

Chapter  I. — Loom  Fixing,  its  Introductory 9 

“ II. — The  Loom,  its  Setting,  Belt,  and  Picking  Motion....  12 

“ III. — The  Box  Motion  and  Shuttle  Swells 17 

“ IV. — (Swells  continued).  The  Filling  Chain  and  Harness 

Motion 21 

“ V. — Putting  in  the  Warj).  The  Speed 27 

“ VI. — Shuttles  Flying  Out,  Filling  Cutting,  Miss-Picks, 

Shuttles  Catching,  Shuttle  Smashes 30 

“ VII. — Weights  used  for  Temples,  Uneven  Cloth  and  its 

Cause 35 

“ VIII. — Conclusion 37 

PART  II. 

THE  KNOWLES  LOOM. 

Chapter  I. — Its  Advent  into  the  Manufacturing  World — Its  Advan- 
tages Over  other  Looms — Its  Mechanism — Sugges- 
tions to  Chain  Builders 41 

“ II. — Chain  Building — Methods  for  Operating  Boxes — 

Chain  Drafts — Hanging  Harnesses 47 

“ III. — Working  of  the  Pinions— Reversing  the  Chains  for 

Picking  Out — Setting  the  Chain  Shaft  Gear— -Practi- 
cal Hints  and  General  Rules 54 

PART  III. 

CAM  LOOM  WEAVING  & MISCELLANEOUS  ITEMS. 

Chapter  1. — Rules  for  the  Production  of  Cloth  on  Cam  Looms.  63 
“ II. — Spreading  the  Warp  Threads  in  the  Process  of 

Weaving 79 

“ III. — Practical  Hints  on  Weaving— The  Management  of  a 

Weaving  Room— -Some  of  the  Elements  of  Success 
in  Weaving— New  Notions  and  Old  Looms— What 
Constitutes  a “Good  Fixer.” S7 

Advertisements pages- 105  106  107  10S  1C9  no 


PART  I. 


CHAPTER  I. 

LOOM  FIXING. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Loom  fixing,  like  all  other  branches  of  work  about  a 
mill,  requires  good  intelligent  men.  The  requisites  ex- 
tend farther  than  this,  even. 

It  requires  men  of  steady  nerves,  keen  perception,  per- 
severance, and  above  all,  men  of  more  patience  than 
ordinary  beings  possess. 

Looms  are  constructed  on  about  the  same  principle  as 
all  other  machines ; having  its  driving  and  driven  pulleys, 
its  gears,  shafts,  belts,  etc.,  and  yet,  unlike  all  other  ma- 
chines in  the  employ  of  manufacturing  cloth,  they  have 
an  independent  part.  The  movement  of  the  shuttle  is 
conditional. 

Upon  the  exactness  and  nicety  of  arrangement  of  nearly 
all  the  other  parts  depends  this  movement,  hence  the 
fixing. 

No  inventive  genius  has  yet  been  able  to  bring  forth  a 
positive  movement  for  the  shuttle,  which  has  proved  a 


10 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


success.  It  remains  yet  to  be  accomplished,  and  will  be. 
But  so  long  as  shuttles  are  thrown  back  and  forth  with 
picker  sticks  and  pickers,  so  long  will  the  services  of 
skilled  men  be  required  to  keep  them  in  motion. 

The  first  and  great  study  which  every  loom-fixer  ought 
to  devote  himself  to,  is  that  of  “cause  and  effect."  Loom 
fixing  does  not  consist  of  continually  changing  and  re- 
arranging the  parts  of  a loom.  The  best  loom-fixers  in 
the  country  to-day  are  those  who  do  the  least  work.  If 
a loom  has  been  running  for  some  length  of  time  all  right 
and  then  begins  going  badly,  the  most  sensible  conclusion 
to  arrive  at  is  that  some  one  thing  is  wrong,  and  not  that 
the  whole  loom  is  out  of  order. 

There  is  always  a cause  for  every  wrong  about  a loom, 
and  to  put  that  right  is  never  much  of  a task,  but  to  get 
some  other  part  out  of  place  in  trying  to  do  so  only 
makes  matters  worse. 

There  are  several  degrees  in  loom  fixing.  The  man 
who  has  plodded  along  for  years  on  flannel  work,  where 
but  one  shuttle  and  four  harnesses  are  required,  knows 
nothing  of  the  intricacies  of  fixing  on  fancy  work.  The 
difference  is  as  wide,  as  that  which  exists  between  the 
simple  sums  in  a child's  arithmetic  and  the  brain-racking 
problems  of  Euclid. 

The  knowledge  and  practical  ability  which  every  first- 
class  fancy  loom-fixer  possesses,  has  been  acquired  only 
by  careful  study  and  persistant  labor.  That  experience 
which  is  not  supplimented  with  brain  force  will  profit 
but  little. 


THE  LOOM-FIXER'S  MANUAL. 


n 


Many  of  our  young-  men  who  are  running-  looms,  or 
tilling-  some  subordinate  position,  and  cherishing  the  hope 
that  sometime  they  may  occupy  the  position  of  “loom- 
tixer,''  must  remember  that  there  are  many  hard  lessons 
to  learn.  A thorough  and  practical  knowledge  of  looms 
is  not  to  be  acquired  in  a month  or  year;  but  many  years 
of  patient  toil  and  persistent  effort  will  be  required  to  at- 
tain to  that  place  where  one  can  presume  to  be  master. 
As  it  is  often  said,  there  is  no  code  of  rules  which  can  be 
laid  down  for  fixers  whereby  in  every  case  they  can  go 
to  a loom  and  immediately  discover  the  cause  of  trouble, 
and  apply  the  remedy,  and  then  go  back  to  the  bench. 

There  can,  however,  be  many  suggestions  by  those  who 
have  had  years  of  experience  which  will  wonderfully  aid 
and  assist  the  young  men  just  starting. 

The  Crompton,  and  Knowles  looms  for  fancy  weaving 
which  are  herein  spoken  of,  contain  nearly  all  the  modern 
improvements,  and  as  the  principles  of  tixing  are  the 
same,  on  whatever  looms  it  may  be,  or  whatever  im- 
provements they  may  have,  the  suggestions  herein  given 
will,  no  doubt,  be  appreciated  by  fixers  on  all  kinds  of 
looms. 


12 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


CHAPTEE  H. 

THE  CROMPTON  LOOM— 

ITS  SETTING BELT,  AND  PICKING  MOTION. 

Our  first  instructions  will  be  upon  the  proper  attention 
that  a loom  should  have  when  setting  it. 

It  is  evident  that  when  setting,  and  starting,  a new 
loom  it  should  have  a good  foundation,  and  that  when 
placed  in  its  proper  position  should  be  level. 

In  levelling,  some  fixers  place  the  spirit-level  upon  the 
top  of  the  frame,  while  others  place  it  on  the  main  shaft, 
— the  picking  shaft  we  have  reference  too — which  is  the 
proper  place  for  levelling  a loom.  If  the  loom  is  very 
much  out  of  level,  be  careful  about  raising  one  side  too 
high  or  giving  it  sudden  jerks,  as  it  will  spring  other 
parts  out  of  place.  After  you  have  it  leveled  up  in  good 
shape,  put  the  screws  into  the  foot  of  the  frame  and  make 
firm  to  the  floor.  Now  set  and  level  the  lathe,  as  fol- 
lows : Draw  the  lathe  up  and  place  the  spirit-level  upon 
it,  then  loosen  the  bolts  at  the  bottom  of  the  lathe 
swords;  raise  or  lower  each  end  of  the  lathe  as  needed. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


13 


Another  way — and  the  most  proper — is  to  place  a piece 
of  board  on  the  breast  beam  ; measure  from  that  down  to 
the  top  of  the  lathe,  or  shuttle  race,  which  should  be 
of  an  inch.  Be  particular  about  getting  it  level,  then 
tighten  up  the  bolts  and  the  lathe  is  ready  for  use. 

Next,  try  the  small  shaft  at  the  belt  end — called  the 
driving  shaft — and  see  if  it  binds;  it  may  not  be  level,  if 
not,  make  it  so.  Now  try  the  working  parts  to  see  if 
they  work,  as  they  should,  with  freedom  and  ease,  if  so, 
the  next  in  order  is  the 

BELT. 

Loom-fixers,  as  a general  thing,  do  not  give  proper 
care  to  their  belts ; the  way  to  put  them  on,  and  the  run- 
ning of  them  afterwords.  First,  examine  the  laps  to  see 
which  way  they  lay  on  the  inside  of  the  belt — that  is,  the 
smooth  side — and  be  sure  to  put  it  on  so  that  when  run- 
ning they  will  run  from,  and  not  against,  the  pulley.  If 
against  it,  it  would  cause  them  to  start  up  and  would 
soon  need  mending.  Remember  to  put  the  belt  on  with 
the  smooth  side  in,  as  the  closer  it  hugs  the  pulley  the 
more  friction  there  will  be. 

The  question  of  oiling  belts,  is  one  greatly  neglected  in 
our  mills  at  the  present  day ; they  should  be  oiled  at  least 
once  a month,  and  done  while  running,  as  the  oil  will 
penetrate  much  better  and  the  result  will  prove  more 
satisfactory. 

After  putting  on  the  belt,  disconnect  the  head  motion 
and  start  up  the  loom ; let  it  run  a while  to  limber  up ; 
watch  the  boxes  to  see  that  they  do  not  heat;  if  so,  raise 


14 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


the  caps  and  put  thin  pieces  of  pasteboard  under  them. 

After  the  loom  gets  well  limbered  up,  sufficient  not 
to  bind  and  become  heavy  in  running,  your  attention 
is  then  called  to  the 

PICKING  MOTION. 

It  is  essential  that  this  motion  should  have  considerable 
attention  given  it.  First,  set  the  standard  that  holds  the 
front  end  of  the  shoe  shaft  so  that  it  has  Jg  °f  :,n  inch 
play,  and  the  top  of  the  standard  is  even  with  the  loom 
frame.  To  set  the  shoes  and  picking  rollers,  take  a piece 
of  wood,  if  setting  a narrow  loom,  7 inches  long  by  % of 
an  inch  square ; if  a broad  loom,  1%  inches  long.  Into 
one  side  of  this  put  through  a screw  4}4  inches  from  one 
end,  letting  it  stick  through  % of  an  inch ; this  file  to  a 
point.  This  point,  place  in  the  centre  of  the  picking  rol- 
ler stud,  and  set  it  4%  inches  from  the  shaft,  and  do  so 
with  all  the  rest.  Then  take  your  7 or  inch  stick  and 
place  it  against  the  socket  in  which  the  back  end  of  the 
shoe  shaft  plays,  and  laying  it  on  the  shaft,  move  the 
shoe  up  to  it  and  fasten  it  there.  The  picking  rollers  and 
shoes  are  now  as  true  as  measurement  will  make  them. — 
In  starting  a new  broad  loom  it  will  work  better  to  have 
the  shoes  set  1%  inches  instead  of  7)o. 

'There  is  an  upright  shaft  on  the  shoe  shaft  which  is  the 
picking  arm.  On  the  broad  loom  this  is  solid,  but  on  the 
narrow  loom  it  has  an  extension  and  can  be  made  longer 
or  shorter.  As  a general  rule,  run  them  down  short  and 
set  far  enough  back  so  that  there  will  be  no  danger  of 
the  lathe  swords  breaking  them.  Now  put  on  the  picker 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


15 


stick  and  connect  it  to  the  picking  arm  by  means  of 
tlie  connector, — sometimes  called  the  sweep  stick, — 
which  should  be  17  inches  from  centre  to  centre  of  holes, 
and  % °f  a n inch  thick  at  the  end  through  which  the. 
picking  arm  stud  passes,  and  tapering  to  1'2  of  an  inch 
at  the  other  end.  A piece  of  strong  leather  2 inches  wide 
and  8 inches  long  or  over,  passes  around  the  picker  stick 
and  is  bolted  to  this  end  of  the  connecting  stick,  which 
is  called  the  tug  strap,  and  to  hold  this  strap  in  its  place 
make  a loop  strap  X of  an  wide  by  6 inches  long  to  pass 
around  the  tug  strap ; through  the  ends  of  this  loop  punch 
holes  and  fasten  to  the  back  of  the  picker  stick  by  means 
of  a small  screw.  To  start  with,  place  the  tug  strap  up 
about  9 inches  from  the  stud  on  which  the  picker  stick 
works.  Below  this  stud  there  is  another  strap  that  con- 
nects the  picker  stick  to  a coil  spring  under  the  loom, 
which  pulls  the  stick  back  after  making  a pick.  Be  care- 
ful about  having  this  strap  too  tight,  as  it  will  cause  the 
loom  to  pick  heavy  ; have  it  just  tight  enough  to  pull  the 
stick  back  on  time,  that  is,  before  the  shuttle  enters 
the  box. 

To  prevent  the  picker  stick  from  splitting,  take  a 2 inch 
or  a 2)4  inch  bolt,  of  an  inch  in  diameter;  bore  a hole 
through  the  stick  1 inch  above  the  hole  for  the  stud,  and 
drive  the  bolt  in  snug;  screw  the  nut  up  tight  so  that  it 
will  sink  into  the  wood,  using  no  washer. 

After  the  picking  rollers,  shoes,  and  shoe  shafts,  pick- 
ing arms,  connectors,  picker  sticks,  and  tug  straps,  have 
all  been  properly  adjusted,  partly  spring  the  loom,  stop- 


16 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


ping  with  the  lathe  arms  standing  up  perpendicular;  this 
is  the  starting  point  for  these  motions  to  commence  their 
work.  Be  particular  to  have  both  picker  sticks  move  at 
the  same  time,  if  not,  fix  them  so  they  will  by  varying 
the  rollers  as  judgment  admits;  but  see  if  you  use  all  the 
shoe,  which  you  should  to  get  an  easy  motion,  and  not 
have  the  loom  pound  or  jump.  The  cams  which  hold  the 
picking  rollers  may  not  be  right.  The  proper  way  is  to 
use  but  one-half  of  the  roller  when  the  loom  commences 
to  pick,  and  as  the  roller  passes  over,  and  the  shoe  goes 
down,  then  all  of  the  roller  is  brought  into  service  at  the 
point  of  the  shoe  where  the  force  lays.  In  giving  these 
few  points  close  attention,  many  obstacles  will  be 
overcome. 

After  you  have  all  the  above  fixings  in  their  proper 
places,  spring  on  the  sticks,  by  holding  them  back  at  the 
top  end,  and  watch  the  sticks  the  distance  they  travel ; 
they  should  come  within  1 inch  of  the  hunters;  if  not, 
extend  the  picking  rollers  more  from  the  main  shaft,  this 
gives  a larger  travel ;— sometimes  shorten  the  connecting 
stick — but  judgment  must  be  used  in  all  cases  even  when 
the  theory  is  understood. 

It  is  necessary  now  that  you  should  have  a picker  to  do 
its  part  of  the  labor,  and  this  should  be  examined  to  see 
if  it  is  straight,  and  not  all  warped  out  of  shape.  It 
should  work  free  upon  the  spindle  to  avoid  catching  and 
causing  trouble. 

For  packing,  place  a roll  of  cloth  in  back  of  the  picker 
just  far  enough  to  make  the  ball  of  the  picker  even  with 


THE  LOOM -FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


17 


the  box  guide  as  vou  look  down  into  the  box.  Now  put 
on  the  picker  strap,  which  should  be  soft  and  pliable, 
and  run  the  loom  a while  to  watch  its  operation,  and  by 
so  doing  if  you  have  any  mechanical  ingenuity,  you  will 
see  improvements  to  make  if  any  is  needed. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  BOX  MOTION  AND  SHUTTLE  SWELLS. 

As  we  now  have  the  main  running  part  of  the  loom  all 
ready  for  operation,  your  attention  is  called  to  the 
BOX  MOTION. 

Here  it  is  essential  that  everything  should  be  done  well 
and  not  slighted,  but  great  pains  taken,  and  the  result 
will  prove  much  more  satisfactory;  and  when  once  prop- 
erly placed  in  a right  position,  and  well  tightened  up,  it 
will  cause  but  little  trouble  for  sometime. 

In  setting  the  box  motion,  we  will  use  a three-box  tap- 
pet section  to  start  with;  this  3'ou  will  notice  has  upon 
one  side,  a place  cut  in  to  just  lit  the  tappet  wheel.  In 
putting  the  tappet  on,  have  it  fit  in  good  shape,  if  not,  as 
the  tappet  moves  around  it  will  be  thrown  out  of  a true 
circle,  which  would  vary  the  box  either  too  high  or  too 
low  : but  this  will  be  more  plainly  seen  further  on. 

Now  place  the  roller  which  rests  under  the  tappet  about 


IS 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


the  middle  of  the  slot  in  the  side  lever;  we  have  now 
"one  as  far  as  we  can  with  this,  as  it  is  necessary  that  we 
should  have  something  to  operate  the  motion.  Well,  you 
will  find  a cam  plate  attached  to  the  main  shaft,  and  up- 
on this  plate  is  fastened  cam  blocks  which  are  subject  to 
changes ; and  to  set  these,  bring  up  the  lathe  to  the  centre. 
— What  we  mean  by  this,  is  when  the  arms  are  in  an 
upright  position,  and  the  loom  starts  to  pick. 

The  picking  of  the  loom,  and  the  work  of  the  cam  plate, 
are  motions  which  are  very  sensitive  to  each  other;  one 
does  its  work  after  the  other  has  prepared  its  portion. 
When  the  loom  starts  to  pick,  the  cam  has,  of  course, 
pushed  the  tappet  in  its  proper  place.  But  suppose  it 
has  not?  Then  examine  what  has  been  done,  and  you 
find  the  cam  has  been  moved  to  its  proper  place,  and  yet 
the  tappet  is  not  pushed  far  enough.  Well,  what  now  ? 
You  will  notice  there  are  four  ratchet  wheels  subject  to 
be  moved  at  will,  and  as  the  cam  has  pushed  the  forks  out 
as  far  as  it  could,  loosen  up  the  bolts  that  hold  these 
wheels  together,  and  set  the  two  with  points  running  the 
same  way  up  to  the  forks.  Should  you  wish  to  reverse 
the  motion,  raise  the  forks  under  the  ratchets  and  set  the 
ones  up  that  point  in  the  opposite  direction. 

We  will  here  quote  a few  remarks  on  the  reverse  mo- 
tion, by  “Weaver.” 

“Doubtless  the  greatest  difficulty  met  with  by  new 
beginners,  is  in  starting  boxes  on  reverse  motion.  Many 
experienced  loom-fixers,  also,  meet  with  trouble  here 
which  are  not  easily  overcome.  The  most  essential  thing 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


91 


about  this  is  to  have  the  box  chain  move  at  just  the  right 
time.  Some  might  differ  with  me  on  this,  and  bring 
strong  arguments  to  show  there  were  other  tilings  of 
more  importance.  But  if  the  chain  moves  at  the  time 
when  it  should,  not  much  difficulty  will  be  experienced 
in  starting  boxes  on  reverse  motion.  The  boxes  should 
work  very  easily,  and  should  commence  to  change  just 
as  the  protector  strikes.  The.  forks  should  be  adjusted 
both  the  same,  and  care  taken  not  to  have  them  too  high. 
There  should  be  no  more  friction  on  the  tappet  shaft,  than 
enough  to  steady  the  boxes.  If  the  boxes  are  working- 
independent  of  each  other,  the  friction  on  each  should  be 
the  same.  Wires  should  be  used  to  connect  the  forks 
with  the  levers  above  the  chain,  and  after  the  forks  have 
been  properly  adjusted,  the  little  nuts  above  and  beneath 
the  levers  should  be  securely  fastened.  Check-nuts  are 
found  to  be  of  great  advantages.  As  to  having  the  boxes 
all  come  to  a level  with  the  race  as  they  rise  and  fall,  no 
specific  directions  can  be  given.  Some  old  fixer  has  said 
this  is  a “hair-splitting  job,”  and  we  agree  with  him. 

“After  adjusting  the  tappet,  the  boxes  can  be  brought 
to  a level  with  the  race  by  raising  or  lowering  the  lever 
which  connects  the  boxes  with  the  tappet,  by  means  of 
the  stud  on  which  the  lever  moves.  But  this,  of  course, 
is  a matter  of  experiment  as  to  how  far  the  stud  should 
be  moved.” 

Turning  to  our  previous  remarks : Tighten  up  the 

bolts  and  examine  what  has  been  done,  then  push  the 
lathe  over  and  see  if  the  tappet  moves  the  same  each  time 


20 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


just  far  enough  for  the  rollers  to  stop  in  the  places  made 
for  them  in  the  tappet.  After  having  completed  this, 
notice  if  the  boxes  are  even  with  the  race ; if  not,  loosen 
the  set  screw  at  the  bottom  of  the  lifter  rod ; raise  or 
lower  it  as  the  boxes  require.  But  we  find  that  the  bot- 
tom box  does  not  come  up  high  enough,  after  having  set 
all  right  for  the  middle  one,  so  what  must  be  done?  You 
will  notice  that  the  side  lever  works  upon  a stud  below 
the  cam  plate,  which  can  be  raised  or  lowered  as  re- 
quired. But  we  find  that  the  box  does  not  come  up  high 
enough  yet,  and  the  top  one  does  not  go  down  low 
enough  ! Then  move  the  stud  down  a little ; this  drops 
the  top  box.  How  set  for  the  middle  one,  being  careful 
not  to  move  the  stud  but  a trifle  at  a time  until  you  get 
it  right,  after  which  you  will  need  the 
SHUTTLE  SWELLS ; 

but  will  have  no  occasion  to  do  anything  with  them  only 
to  bend  suitable  for  the  shuttles.  Before  taking  out  the 
swells,  weigh  up  a set  of  shuttles — we  would  not  recom- 
mend as  to  weight,  any  heavier  than  14  ozs. — and  he  very 
particular  about  weighing  them  and  also  as  to  their  width. 
Place  one  of  the  shuttles  into  the  box  and  see  if  it  fits  the 
swell,  if  not,  take  out  the  swell,  get  a square  piece  of 
lead  5X1}^  inches  to  bend  it- upon  for  fitting  to  the  shut- 
tle, being  careful  not  to  have  it  bind  too  much  at  the 
back,  as  it  will  cause  the  loom  to  pick  too  hard.  Also  be 
careful  about  bending  the  front  end  too  blunt.  A slop- 
ing bend  when  the  shuttle  strikes  it,  will  have  a tendency 
to  go  into  the  box  straighter,  and  often  prevent  the  cut- 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL, 


21 


ting  of  the  filling.  The  portion  of  the  swell  which  strikes 
the  protector  finger,  should  not  be  more  than  one  inch 
from  the  box  when  the  shuttle  is  in. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

(SWELLS  CONTINUED.) 

TIIE  FILLING  CHAIN  AND  HARNESS  MOTIONS. 

That  it  requires  patience  and  good  judgment  in  bend- 
ing the  swells — as  they  are  so  apt  to  break — will  be  ad- 
mitted, and  if  once  bent  too  much,  in  trying  to  bend  them 
back  again  you  will  be  apt  to  make  a break,  thus  render- 
ing them  useless,  except  as  scrap  iron ; threfore,  a few 
more  suggestions  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

In  noticing  a Crompton  swell,  you  will  plainly  see 
what  part  of  it  is  required  to  hold  the  shuttle;  this  we 
will  divide,  into  three  equal  parts,  and  each  part  should 
just  touch  the  shuttle,  but  do  not  have  quite  so  much 
friction  on  the  end  towards  the  box  guide;  if  so,  it 
will  cause  a hard  pick,  as  the  friction  from  the  swell 
and  also  from  the  wire  that  holds  the  same  in  the  box, 
calls  for  considerable  attention  in  this  respect. 

The  bending  of  the  swell  where  the  shuttle  first  strikes 


22 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


it,  in  entering  the  box,  should  be  sloping,  but  not  too 
blunt,  if  so,  it  will  have  a tendency  to  decrease  the  speed 
and  also  the  power  of  the  shuttle  and  many  times  causes 
the  cutting  of  the  filling,  which  will  be  explained 
further  on. 

After  you  have  adjusted  the  swells  and  are  satisfied  all 
has  been  done  that  is  required,  and  that  the  shuttles  fit 
just  right,  see  if  you  can  put  one  into  each  box  without 
taking  hold  of  the  swell,  if  not,  loosen  the  spring  a little, 
and  try  again  until  you  can ; and  when  so,  you  have  the 
swells  in  a good  condition,  and  will  not  require  so  much 
power  to  drive  the  shuttle  across  or  at  least  to  hold  it 
when  once  gone  into  the  box. 

As  to  shuttles,  we  will  not  speak  of  any  particular 
make,  being  prejudiced  against  none,  but  would  suggest 
that  they  be  about  17  inches  in  length  by  1?4  in  width. 

A long  shuttle  is  preferable  to  a short  one,  as  it  can  be 
held  in  the  box  better  and  with  less  friction  and  wearing. 

Some  shuttles  are  bulging  at  the  ends,  although  the 
points  are  set  in  the  centre,  but  would  suggest  those  with 
only  a little  of  this  so  called  improvement,  as  it  is  found 
they  are  not  so  apt  to  go  straight,  especially  if  the  picker 
is  worn,  or  the  reed  does  not  come  up  perfectly  straight 
with  the  box.  Then  again;  shuttles  should  be  weighted 
alike  at  both  ends;  some  are  the  heaviest  at  the  spindle 
end,  but  see  no  just  reason  why  they  are  made  so. 

We  will  now  call  your  attention,  for  a while,  to  the 
FILLING  CHAIN  MOTION, 

which  gives  us  the  ways  that  the  filling  is  woven  in. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


23 


First,  build  a chain  all  straight  work,  that  is,  with  no 
rollers  upon  it,  and  be  particular  to  have  the  links  which 
connects  the  chain,  to  run  from  the  chain  cylinder,  then 
they  will  not  ride  it.  Now  spring  up  the  lathe  and  when 
the  loom  commences  to  pick,  the  cam  block  has,  of 
course,  pushed  out  the  forks,  and  the  tappet  has  moved 
one  box.  You  will  observe  that  the  tilling  chain  and 
forks  are  very  sensitive  to  each  other,  and  also  that  the 
moving  of  one  will  interfere  with  the  other.  When  the 
forks  are  out  as  far  as  required,  and  ready  to  go  back, 
that  is  the  starting  point  for  the  filling  chain  to  com- 
mence to  draw  another  bar,  and  as  soon  as  the  folks  get 
back,  the  filling  chain  should  have  just  got  through  its 
work,  which  shows  that  they  should  work  on  time  with 
each  other,  if  not,  the  pattern  will  be  apt  to  change. 

There  are  small  straps,  or  wires,  that  connect  the  forks 
with  the  little  levers  above  the  filling  chain  cylinder,  and 
in  setting  these  levers  on  the  chain,  spring  over  the  lathe 
a few  times,  after  which,  notice  if  the  levers  just  raises 
the  forks  enough  to  clear  the  ratchets.  Now  put  on  a 
warp  chain  roller,  this  will  raise  the  fork  sufficient  to  re- 
verse the  ratchet.  With  these  rules  and  suggestions,  we 
see  no  reason  why  the  reader  cannot  set  this  motion  so 
far  as  directions  can  be  given. 

We  will  now  call  your  attention  to  the  setting  of  the 
HARNESS  MOTION. 

The  rules  for  this  motion  will  be  somewhat  varied  ac- 
cording to  the  goods  being  made;  but  a starting  point, 
of  course,  will  be  necessary,  and  good  judgment  required 


24 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


afterwards.  First,  bring  the  lathe  up  to  the  breast  beam, 
place  a rule  up  to  the  reed,  have  the  distance  from  the 
reed  to  the  breast  beam  534  inches;  at  this  point  the  jacks 
should  be  closed  up,  and  ready  for  another  opening. 
Now  see  if  the  eveners  on  the  face  and  back  of  the  jacks 
just  come  together,  but  not  so  close  as  to  bind,  if  so,  move 
them  back,  or  at  least  ease  up  on  the  arm  that  connects 
the  head  motion  with  the  cam  on  the  small  shaft  below, 
then  bring  the  jacks  together  and  tighten  up  the  stud. — 
We  wish  to  state  here  that,  we  have  reference  to  the  up- 
right lever  finger-jack  loom. 

We  should  not — if  a small  number  of  harnesses  are  to 
be  used, — extend  out  the  whole  of  the  motion  upon  the 
plate  that  works  the  head  motion,  as  the  more  harnesses 
used  the  larger  the  shed  will  need  to  be;  this  you  will 
easily  see  into.  Now  notice  each  linger  of  the  jacks,  and 
see  if  they  are  all  right  so  as  not  to  catch  each  other,  and 
all  just  of  a hight;  if  not,  they  will  biud  against  the 
eveners. 

Each  finger  has  attached  to  it  a small  casting  that  rests 
upon  the  chain,  which  is  movable  from  one  side  to  the 
other,  and  by  building  the  warp  chain  with  all  rollers 
you  will  find  which  fingers  bind  and  which  do  not:  in 
this  you  can  display  a little  of  mechanical  ingenuity  and 
patience  in  adjusting  them,  either  by  bending  a little 
higher  or  lower  as  required.  You  will  probably  have  to 
file  some  of  them  a little.  The  cylinder  can  be  moved, 
but  not  usually  done,  only  when  the  head  motion  has  be- 
come badly  worn  is  it  raise, — if  ever  tuclied. — when  it 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


may  be  done  to  raise  the  lingers.  Under  the  fingers  is 
a rest,  which  is  for  stopping  them  from  bounding  as 
they  drop,  and  it  is  a good  thing,  especially  in  fast  speed. 

In  building  the  warp  chain,  follow  the  same  directions 
as  given  for  the  filling  chain,  so  as  to  have  it  run  with 
and  not  ride  the  cylinder.  In  setting  the  motion  that 
moves  the  chain  and  cylinder,  have  the  jacks  just  close 
when  the  warp  chain  has  been  pulled  to  another  bar,  but 
do  not  have  it  too  quick,  as  it  might  better  be  a little 
slow,  which  will  often  times  stop  the  jumping  of  the 
fingers  on  the  back  side  of  the  jacks. 

Now  put  on  the  jack  wires,  and  in  doing  so  you  will 
notice  the  small  notches  in  each  jack  at  the  top,  and  also 
at  the  bottom  of  them.  Commence  at  the  front  jack  and 
place  the  first  four  wires  about  level  with  the  rollers  that 
the  harness  straps  work  upon.  The  next  four  wires  ele- 
vate a notch,  and  so  on  with  the  rest  of  them.  By  plac- 
ing the  wires  in  this  manner,  when  the  shed  is  open,  the 
back  harnesses  will  be  about  even  with  the  front  ones. 
This  gives  a clear  and  open  shed. 

When  putting  the  wires  on,  be  careful  and  have  them 
all  straight,  and  bend  the  hooks  so  as  to  not  catch  each 
other.  The  bottom  wires  run  down  on  the  jacks,  instead 
of  up:  commencing  at  the  front  jack  and  working  to  tin* 
back  ones. — Some  fixers  may  think  this  a small  thing  to 
write  about,  but  let  them  break  a few  jacks,  harnesses 
and  straps  by  the  wires  catching,  then  they  will  think 
different  of  it. — Care  and  attention  is  very  essential  in 


3 


26 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


the  small  things  about  a loom,  as  well  as  the  larger  ones. 

After  getting  the  wires  all  on  in  good  shape,  put  on  the 
straps  that  connect  them  with  the  harnesses,  and  have 
them  as  even  as  possible.  When  you  have  a few  straps 
on,  set  in  a harness  and  make  the  heddle-eyes  even  with 
the  back  roll  and  breast  beam  ; even  up  both  ends  of  the 
harness  the  same,  then  put  on  the  remaining  straps,  even 
with  the  first  ones.  The  bottom  straps  can  be  better  reg- 
ulated after  the  warp  is  put  in. 

You  will  notice  that  the  back  roll  bearings  have  notches 
in  them  for  setting  the  roll  in  different  places,  and  in 
using  a small  number  of  harnesses,  say  from  six  to 
twelve,  put  the  roil  in  the  first  notches  the  nearest  to  the 
harnesses ; and  for  a larger  number,  move  the  roll  farther 
back,  this  gives  the  back  harnesses  a better  chance  to 
shed  and  leave  the  strain  on  the  roll. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


27 


CHAPTER  Y. 

PUTTING  IN  THE  WARP. — THE  SPEED. 

Having  the  loom  in  proper  shape,  we  will  proceed  hy 
PUTTING  IN  THE  WARP. 

For  this  purpose,  we  will  choose  one  with  twenty-four 
harnesses.  First,  tie  around  the  warp  beam  heads  a nar- 
row strip  of  woolen  cloth,  then  set  the  warp  into  the 
loom,  and  hang  the  harnesses  as  level  as  possible;  after 
which  hook  them  at  the  bottom,  but  not  so  tight  as  to 
break  the  straps,  but  just  tight  enough  to  keep  them  from 
coining  off  the  rollers. 

Before  commencing  to  tie  in  the  warp,  put  on  the  fric- 
tion bands  and  weights:  then  tie-in  the  warp  by  means 
of  an  iron  rod  or  apron  fastened  to  the  cloth  roller,  and 
pull  the  warp  through  far  enough  to  start  it  up. 

Now  put  the  reed  in  the  lathe,  and  have  the  centre  of 
it  even  with  the  centre  of  the  harnesses,  so  that  the  yarn 
will  draw  through  from  the  warp  straight;  then  put  on 
the  reed  binder  aud  fasten  it. 

The  loom  is  now  ready  to  start  up,  so  weave  in  a head- 
ing, for  which  use  a bobbin  of  white  yarn,  as  it  will 
show  wrong  threads  to  a better  advantage.  Now  put  in 


28 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


the  filling  and  spring  the  lathe  over  a few  times  to  see  if 
the  harnesses  are  all  right,  and  if  anything  catches,  if 
all  is  right,  start  up  the  loom  and  weave  from  4 to  6 
inches  for  a heading,  then  push  the  lathe  back  and  drop 
the  harnesses : now  raise  one  at  a time  to  see  if  any 
wrong  draws  are  in  the  warp,  if  so,  fix  them  in  each  har- 
ness before  raising  another. — Don't  fail  to  do  this  with 
every  warp  you  put  in. — After  you  have  the  wrong  draws 
fixed,  weave  in  a few  more  picks  to  see  if  you  have  them 
right,  then  spring  the  lathe  over  and  leave  it  back  : take 
notice  at  the  same  time  and  see  if  the  yarn  is  raised  from 
the  race  plate,  if  so,  the  shedding  of  the  loom  is  too 
quick,  which  would  have  a tendency  to  raise  or  throw 
out  the  shuttle.  Also  notice  whether  the  shed  is  large 
enough,  if  not,  make  it  so,  but  use  good  judgment  and 
run  it  as  small  as  you  can,  so  as  to  not  strain  the  yarn. 

The  draft  for  the  weave  and  filling  chain,  the  boss 
weaver  will  give  you,  so  that  you  can  build  and  attach 
them  to  the  loom  ; but,  before  commencing  to  weave  this 
twenty-four  harness  warp,  there  is  one  essential  thing 
for  us  to  consider,  and  that  is  the 
SPEED. 

It  is  a well  known  fact,  that  good  steady  speed,  and  at 
a certain  rate,  is  one  great  point  in  loom  fixing;  therefore, 
we  will  dwell  for  a few  moments  upon  the  required  speed 
of  the  loom  to  which  our  attention  is  called. 

Tt  is  evident  that  the  smaller  a machine  is,  the  greater 
the  speed  may  be,  but  a large  machine  like  a loom  with 
twenty-four  harnesses,  stopping  and  starting  at  short  in- 


THE  LOOM-FIXER’S  MANUAL. 


29 


tervals  requires  slow  speed,  and,  now  the  question  is:  at 
what  speed?  We  would  not  recommend  over  SO  picks 
per  minute. — Some,  run  them  as  low  as  75  picks;  al- 
though with  a small  number  of  harnesses,  the  loom  may 
be  run  at  So  picks  to  a good  advantage,  but  in  no  case 
would  we  recommend  any  higher  speed,  for  a broad 
loom.— It  is  the  good  steady  speed  of  the  loom  that  gives 
us  the  most  cloth,  besides  it  will  be  much  more  even. 

Having  decided  upon  the  speed;  the  warp  and  tilling 
chains  on  ; the  tilling  in  the  right  boxes,  and  every  thing 
in  readiness ; weave  in  a few  picks  to  see  if  the  pattern 
is  running  right,  if  so,  then  call  the  boss  weaver's  atten- 
tion to  the  loom  for  his  examination,  and  to  regulate  the 
picks.  The  loom  now  running,  keep  watch  for  a while 
and  see  that  the  pattern  does  not  change ; the  warp  beam 
gives  offregularly ; the  take-up  motion  is  working  even; 
the.  protector  does  not  knock  off;  the  picker  don’t  catch, 
and,  that  there  is  power  enough  to  drive  the  shuttle 
across  on  time.  Watch  all  these  things  close,  as  no  one 
else  will  for  you.  A little  attention  at  this  time,  may 
save  you  many  hours  of  hard  labor,  and  perhaps  many 
broken  castings. 

We  will  now  leave  the  loom  and  warp  that  we  have 
said  so  much  about,  and  devote  our  further  remarks  to 
some  of  the  many  difficulties  which  are  connected  with 
loom  fixing. 


30 


THE  LOOM -FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SHUTTLES  FLYING  OUT — FILLING  CUTTING— MISS-PICKS — 
SHUTTLES  CATCHING SHUTTLE  SMASHES. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  the  small  things  about  a loom 
often  prove  the  most  perplexing,  and  at  times  tend  to  dis- 
arrange many  others;  for,  in  trying  to  remedy  one  thing 
beginners  are  apt  to  move  parts  of  the  loom  that,  in  real- 
ity, have  nothing  to  do  with  the  object  sought  after;  and 
perhaps  lose  hours  of  hard  labor,  besides  keeping  the 
loom  stopped.  All  will  agree  with  us  when  we  say,  that 
for  a person  to  become  efficient,  and  master,  over  any 
trade  or  profession,  he  must  first  learn  to  control  his 
temper,  and  by  so  doing,  the  way  is  made  much  clearer 
for  him. 

Turning  our  attention  again  to  the  loom  which  we  re- 
cently left,  it  would  be  impossible  for  anyone  to  say  what 
would  be  the  first  trouble  to  contend  with;  however,  we 
will  suppose  that  it  is  the 

SHUTTLES  FLYING  OUT. 

First,  examine  the  condition  of  the  boxes  and  see  if 
they  are  level  with  the  race  plate ; the  first  box  appearing 
all  right,  spring  the  lathe  over  and  notice  the  next  box 
in  turn,  and  continue  in  this  manner  for  one  revolution 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


31 


of  the  tappet  section.  If  one  box  comes  right  and  the 
next  one  wrong,  the  tappet  is  not  properly  adjusted  to 
the  tappet  wheel;  therefore,  move  the  tappet  until  the 
boxes  come  even.  Now  notice  whether  one  end  of  the 
boxes  are  higher  than  the  other,  and  if  so,  which  end:  it 
certainly  should  not  be  the  front  end.  as  that  would  tend 
to  raise  the  shuttle  from  its  proper  course,  thereby  caus- 
ing it  to  fly  out. 

Hut,  supposing  that  the  boxes  are  all  right,  and  yet  the 
shuttle  flies  out?  Well,  there  is  another  cause  for  this, 
which  may  be  the  picking  of  the  loom.  By  springing  up 
the  lathe  we  notice  that  the  loom  picks  too  quick,  and 
before  the  shed  opens  sufficient  to  receive  the  shuttle: 
therefore,  set  the  lathe  back  one  tooth  of  the  cog  wheel 
at  the  gear  end,  then  start  up  the  loom  and  out  goes  the 
shuttle  again — but  keep  your  temper.  Now  look  at  the 
picker,  it  may  be  warped  or  worn  out  of  shape  so  that 
the  ball  does  not  strike  the  tip  of  the  shuttle,  as  it  should, 
in  the  centre.  Also  notice  if  the  picker  stick  is  splintered 
or  badly  worn  where  it  strikes  the  picker,  if  so,  it  may 
catch  on  to  the  picker  when  it  starts  to  move ; this  would 
also  cause  the  shuttle  to  fly  out.  Then  again,  the  loom 
making  miss-picks  by  the  harnesses  rising  out  of  place ; 
— often  caused  by  the  guides  at  each  side  of  the  harness 
jacks  not  being  set  up  close  enough,  and  in  consequence, 
the  levers  or  fingers  of  the  jacks  do  not  travel  squarely 
over  the  chain  rollers; — the  shed  too  quick;  back  har- 
nesses not  coming  up  level  with  the  front  ones  ; threads 
breaking  and  tangling  with  others ; bad  dents  in  the  reed 


32 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


or  the  speed  too  quick;  all,  these  difficulties  are  among 
the  many  troubles  which  a loom-fixer  has  to  contend  with 
before  he  is  sure  that  the  flying  out  of  the  shuttle  is 
stopped. 

We  will  now  suppose  that  we  are  being  troubled 
with  the 

FILLING  CUTTING. 

All  loom-fixers  are  aware  that  this  is  rather  a trouble- 
some thing  at  times.  First,  examine  the  shuttle  swells, 
they  may  be  rough  or  bent  too  much  in  front;  the  picker 
rivet  loose;  the  side  of  the  boxes  rough;  the  groove  in 
tile  shuttle  too  small ; the  shuttle  going  from  one  box  to 
the  other  in  a zig-zag  manner,  or  the  boxes  too  high  or 
too  low;  all  these  difficulties  will  cause  the  cutting  of 
the  filling.  But  with  everything  smooth,  and  the  shuttle 
running  straight,  very  little  difficulty  will  be  met  with 
in  this  line. 

MISS-PICKS, 

are  also,  at  times,  rather  a hard  thing  to  stop.  But  sup- 
posing that  we  were  having  trouble  with  such : First, 

draw  up  the  lathe  and  close  the  jacks  together,  then  ex- 
amine the  fingers  of  the  jacks  and  see  if  the  rivets  are 
worn  so  as  to  give  any  play,  if  so,  put  new  ones  in  then- 
place;  also,  see  that  the  fingers  do  not  slip  off  the 
evener;  then  watch  the  moving  of  the  chain,  and  the 
closing  of  the  jacks — which  should  be  together.  Also, 
notice  how  the  rollers  on  the  chain  strike  the  jacks,  and 
also  if  the  speed  is  too  quick,  which  would  cause  the 
fingers  to  jump  when  falling.  Again,  notice  each  finger 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


33 


and  see  if  it  comes  up  high  enough  against  the  evener,  if 
not,  bend  it  so  that  it  will ; also  see  if  the  chain  rides  the 
cylinder  and  that  the  links  are  all  right;  if  not,  make 
them  so.  Watch  all  of  the  above  difficulties  spoken  of, 
and  before  changing  any  part  of  the  loom,  pause  and 
think  what  the  result  will  he,  and  by  giving  the  second 
thought  to  every  thing  that  you  do,  you  may  rest  assured 
that  you  will  soon  become  master  over  the  loom. 

Again,  we  will  suppose  that  the  loom  has  become 
troublesome  by  the 

SHUTTLES  CATCHING. 

This  trouble  we  must  look  after,  and  find  the  cause  of  it. 

After  giving  the  loom  a few  picks,  we  notice  that  the 
power  is  weak,  and,  an  examination  of  the  picking  motion 
is  necessary  before  we  are  satisfied  that  no  blame  can 
rest  here.  The  shoe  is  all  right  and  its  shaft  is  not  bent; 
the  sweep  is  sufficient  and  thus  far,  apparently,  all  seems 
right.  Well,  let  us  look  farther : the  picker  strap  may 
be  too  long,  which  would  give  the  picker  a chance  to 
catch  as  the  boxes  rise  or  fall,  but  this  we  find  satis- 
factory. The  picker  packing  may  be  too  small  so  that 
the  shuttle  will  catch  in  under  the  back  guide,  or  the 
picker  ma}'  be  bent;  the  boxes  may  rise  or  fall  too 
quick  or  too  late ; the  boxes  may  not  be  level  with  the 
race  plate,  and  the  harnesses  may  be  too  high  or  too  low. 
From  these  illustrations  you  will  see  that  all  the  above 
difficulties  may  be  classed  among  the  causes  of  shuttles 
catching,  and  if  proper  attention  be  given  these  points 
not  much  trouble  will  be  met  with,  here. 


34 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


The  next  difficulty  to  which  we  call  your  attention,  is 
SHUTTLE  SMASHES. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  what  many  a loom-fixer  has  been 
severely  censured  for  this  particular  thing. 

The  first  move  to  make  in  this  case  is  to  examine  the 
boxes,  and  if  they  are  found  to  be  working  all  right,  the 
picker,  picker  stick  or  strap  becomes  broken,  the  protec- 
tor should  stop  the  loom  before  the  shuttle  makes  a 
smash  or  “breakout”  in  the  warp.  Why  should  it?  Is 
the  query,  and  the  answer  is  as  follows : When  the  lathe 
is  brought  up  and  the  shuttle  is  out  of  the  box,  and  the 
protector  point  up  against  the  bunter,  you  will  notice 
that  the  protector  finger  point  is  in  about  the  middle  of 
the  swell  which  holds  the  shuttle,  and  if  the  boxes  move 
too  quick — especially  their  changing  before  the  shuttle 
arrives  across  on  time — it  will  throw  the  finger  out,  and 
the  result  is  a smash.  Also,  examine  the  finger  point  and 
see  if  it  is  worn  off  flat;  it  should  be  provided  so  as  to 
drop  between  the  shuttle  swells,  in  case  the  shuttle  does 
not  arrive  in  the  box  on  time;  also  have  spring  enough 
on  the  protector  to  make  it  work  quick. 

Too  quick  speed  will,  at  times,  bring  the  shuttles  to- 
gether and  make  a smash  when  no  cause  can  be  seen,  but 
smashes  are  more  apt  to  occur  when  the  yarn  lacks  prop- 
er elasticity.  The  protector  point  should  be  kept  suffi- 
ciently pointed,  so  as  not  to  slip  off  when  it  strikes  the 
bunter;  all  these  difficulties  will  cause  shuttle  smashes, 
but  if  properly  looked  after,  little  trouble  need  be  met 
with  in  this  direction. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


35 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WEIGHTS  USED  FOR  TEMPLES — UNEVEN  CLOTH 
AND  ITS  CAUSE. 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing — and  we  doubt  if  it  ever 
will  be — to  have 

WEIGHTS  USED  FOR  TEMPLES. 

We  have  seen  weights  of  20  pounds  hung  upon  each 
side  of  the  cloth,  to  hold  the  selvage  out  to  its  place,  and 
at  the  same  time,  the  weaver  was  continually  mending 
up  threads,  when  a weight  of  one-third  the  amount  would 
have  answered  the  purpose  as  well,  for  all  that  is  required 
is  to  keep  the  cloth  out  even  with  the  yarn  in  the  reed ; 
therefore,  you  should  give  this  matter  proper  attention 
and  see  that  no  more  weight  is  used  than  is  necessary. 
UNEVEN  CLOTH  AND  ITS  CAUSE. 

It  is  evident  that  the  yarn  must  come  in  good  shape 
from  one  room  to  another  in  order  to  give  good  results, 
and,  as  a general  thing,  if  the  stock  is  handled  with  care 
in  the  card  room  and  spinning  room,  and  properly  after 
leaving  these  places,  the  weave  room  will  be  obliged  to 
give  good  even  cloth,  or  the  trouble  would  soon  be  found 
out  and  the  room  that  caused  it. 


THK  LOOM -FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


;!6 


But,  suppose  that  it  was  caused  in  the  weave  room? 
Then,  to  guard  against  such  in  the  future,  give  close  at- 
tention to  the  dressing  of  the  warp,  and  observe  if  each 
section  is  run  on  the  warp-reel  with  equal  tension,  and 
also  beamed  off  hard  and  even;  as  slack  beaming  will 
cause  considerable  annoyance. 

In  getting  a beam  for  beaming  off  the  warp,  examine 
the  heads  and  see  if  they  are  good  and  tight,  if  not,  make 
them  so,  then  put  around  them  a clean  piece  of  cloth,  and 
when  you  put  in  the  warp  see  that  the  friction  bands  do 
not  bind ; and  also,  when  starting  up  the  warp,  see  that 
the  take-up  motion  does  its  work  just  as  fast  as  the  lathe 
beats  the  filling  into  the  cloth. 

When  looms  run  too  fast,  uneven  cloth  will  be  more 
apt  to  make  its  appearance. 

Look  out  about  having  too  much  weight  upon  the  take- 
up  motion,  especial^  if  making  goods  with  few  picks. 

Always  bear  in  mind  that  these  small  things  are  often 
the  most  bothersome,  and  as  loom-fixers  are  so  apt  to  get 
slack  and  negligent  about  their  work,  is  the  reason  why 
we  speak  of  so  much  care  and  attention  being  given  such. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  make  good  perfect  cloth 
without  good  filling  and  warp,  and  the  more  the  warp 
breaks,  the  more  picking  out  there  will  be,  and  the  cloth 
will  be  uneven  from  such  work;  but,  more  especially 
in  light  weight  goods. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


37 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

In  closing  these  remarks  on  the  Crompton  upright 
lever  loom,  we  wish  to  state  that  we  would  have  been 
pleased  to  give  a more  detailed  account  concerning,  the 
setting  and  operating,  the  different  harness  motions  in 
use  on  Crompton  fancy  looms.  But,  as  there  are  so 
many  different  kinds  of  them,  and  so  many  of  the  old 
styles  being  set  aside,  we  decided  to  speak  of  only  the 
above  style,  and  that  which,  in  our  estimation,  is  the 
best  and  most  in  use  at  the  present  day. 

Setting  aside  the  harness  motion,  the  remaining  run- 
ning parts  on  all  of  Crompton's  fancy  cassimere  looms, 
are  on  or  about  the  same  principle.  Hence,  a Crompton 
fixer,  cannot  help  finding  some  assistance  in  the  preced- 
ing chapters ; either  on  one  or  more  of  the  motions  about 
the  loom. 

All  will  agree,  that  it  is  essential  for  anyone  attempt- 
ing to  learn  loom  fixing,  to  have  some  starting  point; 
either  through  practical  showing,  or  theoretical  instruc- 
tions. It  was  with  this  point  in  view,  that  the  preceding 
chapters  were  written ; believing,  at  the  same  time,  that 
the  beginner  after  giving  their  contents  a careful  study, 


38 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


would  be  as  far  advanced  in  the  general  principles  of 
loom  fixing,  as  would  otherwise  require  him  months  of 
hard  labor  and  perplexities. 

The  most  successful  men  in  any  department  of  life, 
are  those  who  give  their  attention  to  details ; and  if 
there  are  any  class  of  young  men  on  whom  this  should 
make  a deep  and  lasting  impression,  it  is  those  who  have 
chosen  loom  fixing  as  their  trade. 

In  conclusion  we  would  say,  that  if  we  have  overlooked 
any  point  or  points  about  the  loom,  and  the  many  diffi- 
culties of  which  a loom-fixer  has  to  contend  with,  that  it 
is  an  oversight  on  our  part,  and  not  done  intentionally; 
and,  we  trust  that  the  reader  will  excuse  such,  if  any. 

It  has  been  our  aim  to  give  the  preceding  details  in  as 
exemplifiable  manner  as  possible,  and  as  to  how  far  we 
have  succeeded  in  this  undertaking  we  leave  it  for  the 
reader  to  say. 

As  we  now  close  these  remarks,  we  trust  that  the  read- 
er may  receive  some  benefit  from  them,  and  that  in  years 
to  come  he  can  look  back  to  this  little  work  with  feel- 
ings of  gratitude  for  the  benefit  derived  from  it  in  years 
gone  by. 


/ 


PART  II. 


THE  KNOWLES  LOOM. 

CHAPTER  I. 

ITS  ADVENT  INTO  THE  MANUFACTURING  WORLD — ITS  AD- 
VANTAGES OVER  OTHER  LOOMS — ITS  MECHANISM 
—SUGGESTIONS  TO  CHAIN  BUILDERS. 

To  one  who  has  become  familiar  with  the  workings  of 
a Crompton  loom — previous  to  the  u1880"  style — the 
harness  and.  box  motion  of  this  loom  may  seem  compli- 
cated. 

It  is  too  often  the  case,  and  we  may  venture  to  say  a 
rule  with  most  young  fixers,  when  looking-  at  a loom 
with  which  they  are  not  familiar,  to  try  to  take  in  at  a 
glance  and  apprehend  the  whole  combination,  and  tin; 
relation  which  each  separate  part  sustains  to  the  other. 
This  cannot  be  done  unless  he  possess  a brain  of  wonder- 
ful power,  and  to  that  class  this  feeble  attempt  to  instruct 
will  be  wholly  out  of  place.  To  be  sure,  the  general 
principles  of  weaving  are  the  same  on  all  looms,  but  each 
and  every  improvement  made  on  weaving  machinery  de- 
mands study  of  the  fixer,  however  well  informed  he  may 
be  in  other  matters  pertaining  to  weaving  and  fixing; 
and  fifteen  minutes  of  careful  study,  occasionally,  on  any 
loom  is  never  wasted  time. 


4 


42 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


The  advent  of  the  Knowles  loom  into  the  manufactur- 
ing world,  brought  with  it  many  advantages  over  the 
looms  then  in  use.  The  harness  and  box  motion  was  con- 
structed upon  new  principles,  the  latter  being  so  arranged 
that  any  box  can  be  brought  to  a level  with  the  race  re- 
gardless of  the  box  which  preceded  it. 

This,  especially  by  designers,  was  considered  a great 
improvement  as  it  would  facilitate  in  making  patterns. 

If  it  was  an  advantage  to  that  class,  it  was  doubly  so 
to  fixers  as  it  did  away  with  till  the  vexatious  troubles 
caused  by  “reverse”  and  “double  reverse”  on  other 
looms. 

As  the  working  of  the  boxes  is  so  intimately  connected 
with  the  harness  motion,  many  suggestions  which  might 
be  made  for  running  one  would  also  be  applicable  to  the 
other;  it  will,  therefore,  be  necessary  to  follow  the 
movements  of  both  in  their  workings,  and  in  so  doing  we 
shall  try  to  present  our  ideas  in  as  clear  a manner  as  pos- 
sible, so  that  fixers  who  have  spent  their  days  on  the  old 
style  of  looms,  and  find  that  they  have  drifted  on  the 
great  tide  of  progress  into  a position  where  the  Knowles 
loom  is  in  use,  they  may  be  able  to  take  hold  of  it  with 
little  or  no  trouble. 

We  do  not  expect  that  the  ideas  herein  contained  w ill 
meet  with  the  general  approval  of  all  fixers  on  the 
Knowles  loom.  There  may  be  some  thoughts  suggested 
which  they  cannot  agree  with;  but  let  it  be  understood 
that  experience  under  different  circumstances  generate 
different  ideas,  and  however  good  an  experience  one  may 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


43 


have  had,  or  however  good  ideas  one  may  possess,  an- 
other may  rank  as  high  in  both  and  yet  differ  in  many 
points. 

It  may  be  well^enough  to  state  at  the  commencement 
that  the  loom  we  have  before  us  is  the  “Knowles'  Patent 
Open  Shed  Fancy  Loom." 

The  Head  which  operates  the  harnesses  and  boxes  is 
driven  by  an  upright  shaft  running  from  an  intermediate 
gear  close  behind  the  crank  shaft,  and  connecting  at  the 
top  with  two  long  driving  gears  or  cylinders  which  lie 
one  above  the  other  in  a horizontal  position  running  in 
opposite  directions. 

't  he  top  gear  is  for  raising  both  harnesses  and  boxes, 
the  bottom  gear  for  falling  the  same. 

These  gears  or  cylinders,  the  fixer  will  of  course  under- 
stand, run  at  the  same  speed  as  the  crank  shaft. 

That  part  of  the  cylinder  which  operates  the  harnesses 
is  adjustable  and  can  be  set  so  that  the  harnesses  will 
change  in  advance  of  the  boxes  according  as  the  work 
may  be. 

For  common  work  four  teeth  in  advance  is  about  right. 

In  making  a change  at  any  time,  the  fixer  should  be 
very  careful  and  have  the  top  and  bottom  cylinders  the 
same  number  of  teeth  in  advance,  in  order  that  the  har- 
nesses may  commence  to  rise  and  fall  at  the  same  time. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  cylinder  has  nineteen  teeth, 
thus  using  half  its  circumference,  and  that  the  vibrator 
gear  has  seventeen  teeth  on  either  side  and  between  two 
spaces;  one  space  of  four  teeth,  the  other  of  only  one. 


44 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


The  space  of  four  teeth  is  for  the  cylinder  to  pass  with- 
out working  the  harness  or  box,  while  the  space  of  one 
tooth  is  tiie  starting  point  either  up  or  down. 

Now  in  order  that  the  vibrator  gears  be  placed  in  the 
right  position  at  the  right  time  for  either  cylinder  to  catch 
them,  the  chain  must  pass  under  the  vibrator  lever  at  just 
the  exact  time;  and  herein  lies  the  whole  secret  of  man- 
aging the  Head  of  a Knowles  loom. 

We  will  remark  right  here,  however,  that  if  the  direc- 
tions and  suggestions  herein  contained  are  carefully  ob- 
served the  fixer  will  have  but  little  trouble  as  far  as  the 
working  of  the  harnesses  and  boxes  are  concerned. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  the  chain  shaft,  being  run  by  a 
gear,  is  a constant  and  not  an  intermittent  movement; 
and  having  six  places  for  chain  bars  would, consequently, 
run  one-sixth  times  as  fast  as  the  cylinders,  thereby  bring- 
ing a bar  of  the  chain  directly  under  the  vibrator  lever 
at  a point  where  it  would  either  raise  or  lower  the  vibra- 
tor gear  at  every  revolution  of  the  cylinder. 

We  will  suppose  that  one  of  these  looms  has  been  put 
into  a mill  where  the  fixer  has  been  used  to  other  kinds 
of  looms,  and  it  becomes  his  duty  to  put  in  the  warp  and 
begin  the  weaving. 

The  building  of  the  chains  will  be  the  first  thing  to  at- 
tend to,  and  unless  the  fixer  gives  heed  to  what  is  said  on 
this  point,  he  may  have  occasion  to  regret  it  in  a short 
time  after  starting  the  loom,  for  very  much  depends  on 
the  way  in  which  the  chain  is  built. 

The  harness  chain  is  constructed  the  same  as  for  other 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


45 


looms;  a “riser”  brings  the  harness  up,  a “sinker”  or 
tube  carries  it  down.  And  now  for  the  most  important 
lesson  to  be  learned  in  chain-building,  be  careful  how  the 
links  are  put  on. 

In  constructing  a chain  for  any  loom,  fixers  and  boys 
are  taught  to  place  the  links  with  both  ends  in  on  one, 
and  both  ends  out  on  the  other.  This  is  right  and  if  car- 
ried into  effect  there  will  be  no  trouble. 

The  following  suggestions  may  be  of  profit  to  the  chain 
builder:  Use  the  rack  furnished  by  Knowles  Brothers, 
if  there  was  none  sent  with  the  looms  apply  for  one  at 
once  which  will  be  forwarded  free  of  cost.  This  should 
be  placed  on  a nicely  constructed  bench  made  on  purpose 
for  chain-building.  A common  work-bench  is  no  place 
for  chains. 

There  should  be  a place  beneath  where  the  bars  can  be 
kept,  also  a place  for  the  links  where  no  heavy  weight 
can  fall  and  bend  them.  On  the  top  and  either  side  of 
the  chain  rack  should  be  separate  places  for  “ risers,” 
“sinkers,”  links  and  pins.  Knowles  Brothers  make  no 
double  “ risers nor  “ sinkers,”  they  are  all  single.  Bight 
here  a word  of  warning  may  be  given  in  regard  to  mixing 
other  chain  stuff  with  this.  It  will  not  work. 

Now  with  the  rack  in  its  proper  place  proceed  to  fill 
each  space  with  bars,  then  beginning  on  the  left  hand  side 
place  a link  on  the  first  two  bars,  then  another  on  the 
third  and  fourth,  and  so  on,  until  an  even  number  of  bars 
are  filled,  then  beginning  again,  place  a link  on  the  second 
and  third,  on  the  fourth  and  fifth  and  so  on  to  the  last 


46 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


bar  when  it  will  be  found  that  the  last  link  will  connect 
the  last  and  first  bars  together,  or  any  even  number  of 
bars,  without  having  any  link  wrong.  Then  the  pins 
should  be  put  in  and  spread  a very  little,  at  the  point  just 
enough  to  keep  them  from  falling  out.  In  making  pins, 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  have  them  too  long.  They 
should  not  roach  past  the  link. 

One  sinker  should  now  be  put  on  to  each  bar,  and  if 
there  are  only  eight,  ten,  or  twelve  harnesses  in  use,  the 
space  may  be  filled  a part  of  the  way  with  “ risers,"  but 
in  doing  so,  it  is  a good  plan  to  take  a certain  space,  and 
fill  it  evenly  the  whole  length  of  the  chain.  For  instance, 
on  a twenty  harness  loom,  where  but  eight  are  required 
to  weave  the  pattern  there  will  be  a space  of  twelve  har- 
nesses, and  a space  of  eight  may  be  filled  with  “risers” 
without  detriment  to  the  unused  jacks.  The  harness 
chain  should  not  be  less  than  twelve  bars  in  length,  and 
sixteen  are  better. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


47 


CHAPTER  H. 

CHAIN  BUILDING — METHODS  FOR  OPERATING  BOXES — 
CHAIN  DRAFTS — HANGING  HARNESSES. 

Before  proceeding  with  an  explanation  of  chain-build- 
ing for  the  boxes,  and  the  working  of  the  same,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  say  that  all  looms  built  since  1880  have  a 
little  different  mechanism  for  working  the  boxes  than 
those  built  prior  to  that  time. 

'fhe  difference  consists  in  the  construction  of  the  Com- 
pound levers,  the  latter  is  considered  quite  an  improve- 
ment over  the  old. 

Now  in  order  that  the  fixer  may  easily  comprehend  the 
ideas  intended  to  be  conveyed,  we  will  illustrate  with  a 
box  chain  for  both  the  new  and  the  old  make  of  level's. 
We  will  suppose  there  are  four  kinds  of  filling  to  be  used, 
thus : 2 picks  of  black,  1 pick  of  red  and  black  twist,  2 

picks  of  gray,  1 pick  of  orange  and  black  twist.  This 
pattern  is  selected,  not  for  its  practical  use,  but  for  two 
reasons;  first,  as  four  boxes  are  required,  to  show  how 
the  chain  should  be  construced,  and  second,  as  one  would 
naturally  begin  with  top  box  and  work  to  bottom  to  show 
that  in  a pattern  of  this  kind  the  boxes  at  both  ends  of 
the  loom  ought  not  to  work  from  top  to  bottom  together, 


48 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


and  then  drop  to  top  again,  but  when  one  is  up,  the  other 
should  be  down,  and  this  rule  should  be  invariably  fol- 
lowed when  the  pattern  will  allow  whether  there  be  four, 
three,  or  two  boxes  at  both  ends  in  use. 

The  reason  will  be  obvious  when  the  fixer  understands 
the  amount  of  labor  which  the  cylinder  and  compound 
levers  have  to  perform  in  working  the  boxes. 

In  adopting  this  method  it  will  not  only  be  much  easier 
for  the  loom,  but  lighter  work  for  the  weaver  in  turning 
the  crank  hunting  for  a lost  pick,  or  picking  out.  Be- 
fore giving  the  draft  for  building  a chain  for  weaving  the 
above  pattern,  the  careful  attention  of  the  fixer  is  called 
to  the  principle  on  which  the  boxes  are  worked. 

The  vibrator  gears  and  levers  are  made  the  same  as 
those  which  work  the  harnesses 

From  the  vibrator  gears  long  connectors  reach  to  the 
Compound  Levers.  From  these  levers  a chain  runs  over 
little  pulleys  and  is  attached  to  the  rod  which  supports 
the  Box  Rest.  Now  it  will  be  observed  that  there  are 
four  vibrators  which  work  the  boxes,  two  for  each  end  of 
the  loom.  The  two  next  the  back  of  the  loom  works  the 
box  on  the  belt  end,  the  two  next  the  front  work? the  box 
on  the  end  nearest  the  head  motion 
Always  bear  in  mind  that  the  vibrators  which  control 
the  boxes  at  one  end  of  the  lay  work  independent  of  the 
other.  Therefore,  in  building  a box  chain  it  would  be 
well  to  draw  a line  with  pencil  through  the  centre  of 
chain  draft  and  thus  keep  the  fact  in  mind  that  the  two 
spaces  on  one  side  of  the  line  are  for  the  boxes  at  one  end 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


49 


of  the  lay,  and  the  two  on  the  other  side  are  for  the  boxes 
at  the  other  end,  as  in  the  draft  below,  which  is  for 
looms  made  prior  to  1SS0. 


We  think  the  idea  is  made  plain  in  this  draft.  Begin- 
ning at  the  top  it  will  be  seen  that  for  the  first  two  bars 
the  two  spaces  on  the  left  of  the  line  have  “sinkers,’’ 
while  the  two  spaces  at  the  right  of  the  line  have  “risers 
therefore,  the  box  at  one  end  is  clear  down,  while  at  the 
other  it  is  clear  up,  and  will  put  in  two  picks  of  black. 
Now  comes  a change.  It  will  be  observed  there  is  a 
“ riser"  at  the  extreme  left,  also  one  at  the  extreme  right. 

The  box  which  has  been  clear  up  will  fall  one,  and  the 
other  will  rise  one,  and  put  in  one  pick  of  red  and  black 
twist. 

The  next  change  will  bring  the  boxes  both  at  the  sec- 
ond where  two  picks  of  gray  w ill  go  in. 

At  the  next  change  it  will  be  seen  that  the  boxes  stand 
opposite  to  what  they  did  at  starting,  the  one  having 
gone  up  one  box  at  a time,  while  the  other  is  going  down. 

One  very  important  feature  in  this  connection,  is  the 
simple  manner  in  which  a thread  of  filling  can  be  put  in- 
to any  desired  shed.  For  instance,  if  the  single  pick  of 


TOP. 


2 Black 

1 Red  & Black  X . . X 


2 Gray 

1 Orange  & Black  XX.. 


50 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


orange  and  black  twist  is  desired  to  go  into  a particular 
shed,  all  the  fixer  has  to  do  in  putting  on  the  chains  is  to 
have  the  bar  on  the  box  chain  exactly  off  against  ihe  bar 
in  the  harness  chain  which  contains  the  shed  in  which  it 
is  intended  to  go,  or  in  other  words,  have  the  end  of  one 
come  to  the  end  of  the  other  on  the  chain  shaft. 

Fixers  who  have  worked  on  Crompton’s  “1SS0"  style 
of  loom,  where  boxes  are  worked  on  about  the  same  prin- 
ciple, knows  that  the  box  chain  has  to  be  placed  one  bar 
in  advance  of  the  harness  chain,  and  unless  a fixer  be 
skilled  in  putting  on  chains,  several  trials  have  to  be 
made  before  the  pattern  comes  right. 

Previous  to  giving  a draft  for  building  a box  chain  to 
weave  the  above  pattern  with  the  improved  Compound 
Levers,  we  will  quote  from  a manuscript  kindly  loaned  us 
by  the  builders  which  gives  very  clear  directions  for  ad- 
justing these  levers  to  work  the  boxes  properly.  “The 
boxes  are  adjusted  by  sliding  the  movable  bolt  at  centre 
of  long  lever,  or  the  movable  slide  at  end  of  short  lever. 
Raising  the  movable  bolt  gives  more  motion  to  the  box 
with  single  lift  as  from  first  to  second,  and  pushing  in  the 
movable  slide  gives  more  motion  to  the  box  with  double 
lift  as  from  first  to  third,  etc.  And  the  two  short  or  in- 
side levers  with  pulley  are  the  double  lift  and  call  the 
boxes  from  first  to  third,  second  to  fourth,  etc." 

Now  for  building  a chain  adapted  to  this  mechan- 
ism, proceed  the  same  as  with  the  old  by  drawing  a 
pencil  mark  through  the  centre,  and  it  will  be  found 
that  on  the  right  of  the  mark  the  chain  will  be  the 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


51 


same  as  in  the  old,  while  on  the.  left  it  will 
be  exactly  opposite.  Thus : — 


TOP. 


2 Black 

X X 
XX 

1 Red  & Black 

. X 

. X 

2 Gray 

{S: 

X . 

x • 

1 Orange  & Black 

XX 

The  following  is  to  the  point,  and 

aid 


the  fixer  in  building  the  chain. 


A roll  with  a tube  at  the  right  brings  the  second  box  on 
the  Head  end  of  the  loom,  and  a roll  with  a tube  at  the 
left  brings  the  second  box  at  the  pulley  end  of  the  loom. 
A roll  with  a tube  at  the  left  brings  the  third  box  on  the 
Head  end  of  the  loom  and  a roll  with  a tube  at  the  right 
brings  the  third  box  on  the  pulley  end  of  the  loom. 

When  the  chains  are  constructed  of  all  new  material 
they  should  be  dipped  in  oil,  and  many  fixers  have  adop- 
ted a plan,  which  is  a good  one,  of  fastening  the  chain 
together  over  a line  of  shafting  and  let  it  run  for  several 
days  when  it  becomes  limber  and  pliable. 

When  the  chains  are  ready  for  the  loom  they  can  be 
put  on  very  easily. 

In  the  first  place  unlock  the  clutch  on  the  upright  shaft 
before  mentioned.  This  is  done  by  pulling  on  the  little 
shipper  lever  inside  of  the  arch  stand.  Then  with  one 
hand  turn  the  cylinder  crank  slowly  until  the  lock-knife 
is  back,  then  with  the  other  hand  pull  the  Evener  Slide 
out;  then  turn  the  crank  over  once  and  it  will  be  found 


52 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


that  the  harness  jacks  are  all  even,  and  that  the  cylinders 
do  not  catch  the  vibrator  gear.  The  Evener  Slide  holds 
the  gears  from  meshing  into  the  bottom  cylinder,  and  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  space  where  four  teeth  are  gone  in 
the  gears  are  all  up,  thereby  not  letting  the  top  cylinder 
catch  the  gears.  Now  with  the  head  motion  in  this  posi- 
tion the  chains  can  be  put  on  also  the  warp  put  in. 

In  hooking  the  harnesses  on  at  the  top  it  will  be  seen 
that  they  are  all  up,  and  their  tops  should  be  about  9}., 
inches  from  the  under  side  of  the  loom  arches,  under 
which  they  hang. 

The  harness  jacks  have  notches  for  both  top  and  hot- 
tom  wires,  and  a very  good  rule  to  observe  in  placing  the 
wires  is  to  put  the -first  three  in  the  third  notch  from  the 
bottom,  the  next  three  in  the  fourth,  and  so  on ; be  sure 
and  have  the  wires  at  the  other  end  of  the  jacks  corres- 
pond with  these  already  put  on,  beginning  at  third  notch 
from  the  jack  comb. 

Mr  Knowles  says  ‘"the  harnesses  should  be  hung  very 
loosely , as  nothing  is  gained  by  tight  strapping,  and  it 
tends  to  hinder  the  free  working  of  the  harness  head." 
Jn  order  to  have  an  even  tension  on  the  harness  straps, 
when  hooked  underneath,  after  tying  the  warp  in,  begin 
at  the  front  harness,  and  by  raising  the  connectors  one  at 
a time,  it  will  be  found  that  the  harnesses  will  drop  clear 
down.  Then  with  the  cylinder  crank  bring  them  just 
half  way  up,  that  is,  bring  them  just  high  enough  so  that 
a warp  thread  will  be  on  a line  with  the  breast  beam  and 
whip  roll,  or  thread  bar.  With  the  harnesses  in  this  posi- 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


53 


tion  hook  them  underneath,  then  they  will  have  the  same 
tension  whether  up  or  down. 

Everything  being  now  in  readiness,  push  the  Evener 
Slide  in,  and  then  turn  the  cylinder  crank  over  quite  a 
number  of  times  to  make  sure  that  nothing  in  the  har- 
nesses or  chains  can  catch. 

Now  before  starting  the  warp  it  will  be  well  for  the 
fixer  to  examine  very  closely,  and  understand  if  possible, 
the  workings  of  the  three  pinions  and  the  relation  which 
they  sustain  to  the  Chain  Shaft  Gear. 

We  will  say,  however,  that  the  builders  have  recently 
made  a change  in  these  pinions,  and  also  done  away  with 
what  was  called  the  “Snap  Handle.”  But  as  there  are 
so  many  of  the  old  kind  in  use  we  will  deal  first  with 
them,  after  which  will  try  to  explain  what  the  improve- 
ments are. 


54 


THE  LOOM-FIX  EH  S*  MANUAL. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WORKING  OF  THE  PINIONS — REVERSING  THE  CHAINS  FOR 
PICKING  OUT — SETTING  THE  CHAIN  SHAFT  GEAR 
— PRACTICAL  HINTS  AND  GENERAL  RULES. 

On  the  end  of  the  bottom  cylinder  shaft  towards  the 
front  of  the  loom  are  two  pinions ; the  one  on  the  outside, 
or  end  of  the  shaft,  is  the  larger  of  the  two  and  is  called 
tile  Single  Reverse  Pinion,  the  smaller,  the  Chain 
Shaft  Pinion. 

These  work  on  a movable  spline,  or  key,  on  file  end  of 
which  is  a knob  and  is  called  the  Reverse  Knob.  This 
spline  is  only  long-enough  to  reach  through  one  pinion, 
and  in  this  simple  arrangement  is  the  whole  plan  for  revers- 
ing the  pattern  chains  for  picking  out;  which  is  done  by 
placing  one  hand  on  the  cylinder  crank  and  slowly  mov- 
ing it  back  and  forward  while  its  position  is  nearly  hori- 
zontal, and  with  the  other  hand  pull  the  Reverse  Knob, 
which  Mill  slide  out  very  easily  when  the  spline  beds  in 
both  pinions  are  in  a line  with  each  other.  The  outside, 
or  large  pinion  will  then  be  the  one  which  works  the  pat- 
tern chains,  and  it  will  be  found  by  turning  the  crank  for- 
ward that  botli  chains  are  running  backwards;  hence  the 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


55 


simple  manner  in  which  a lost  pick  maybe  found  or  fill- 
ing threads  removed  from  the  shed. 

When  the  right  pick  is  found  there  is  no  going  around 
the  end  of  the  loom  with  a pry  to  set  the  boxes,  for  while 
reversing  the  chains  the  boxes  also  reverse  and  keep  pace 
with  each  filling  thread  removed  so  that  when  the  right 
one  is  found  the  boxes  are  in  the  right  position.  Work 
the  cylinder  crank  in  the  same  manner  when  pushing  t lie 
spline  in,  and  when  this  lias  been  done,  turn  the  crank 
over  once  before  locking  the  clutch  on  the  upright  shaft. 

The  weaver  should  be  instructed  to  use  great  care  in 
working  the  Reverse  Knob,  and  see  that  it  is  never  left 
a part  way  out,  for  the  fixer  can  see  at  a glance  that  if 
this  should  be  done  and  the  loom  started  one  of  the  pin- 
ions would  be  snapped  at  the  first  movement.  This  is 
only  applicable  to  the  old  style  of  pinions.  Above  these 
is  a double  pinion  which  acts  as  an  intermediate,  and  is 
called  the  Double  Reverse  Pinion.  By  watching  its 
movements  the  fixer  can  easily  understand  its  relation  to 
each  other. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  chain  shaft  gear  is  not  fastened 
to  the  chain  shaft  itself,  but  that  the  casting  which  holds 
the  Snap  handle  is  fastened  thereto  by  a soft  set  screw, 
and  then  fastening  itself  to  the  gear  by  the  snap  pin ; 
and,  says  Mr.  Knowles,  “as  this  is  the  otdy  medium  by 
which  power  is  communicated  to  the  chain  shaft,  it  is 
very  essential  that  this  be  kept  in  proper  position." 

This  brings  us  to  our  starting  point  in  which  we  said 
“herein  lies  the  whole  secret  of  handling  the  Head  mo- 


56 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS1  MANUAL. 


tion  of  a Knowles  Loom.”  Mr.  Knowles  goes  on  to  say 
that  “Any  change,  however  slight,  at  its  (that  is  the  east- 
ing of  the  Snap  Handle)  connection  with  the  chain  shaft, 
is  increased  many  fold  through  the  long  arm  of  the  snap 
handle  in  its  connection  with  the  chain  shaft  gear,  and  if 
set  so  as  to  move  the  chain  shaft  sooner,  will  allow  the 
vibrator  gears  to  drop  out  of  the  cylinder  gears  before 
they  have  done  their  work,  and  if  later,  will  not  biing 
them  into  position  at  the  time  w hen  they  should  com- 
mence working.” 

Now  before  starting  the  loom,  if  there  is  not  already  a 
mark,  it  would  be  w7ell  for  the  fixer  to  take  a sharp  cold- 
chisel  and  with  a hammer  make  a fine  mark  on  the  end 
of  the  chain  shaft  extending  it  on  to  the  casting  so  that 
if  the  shaft  gets  out  of  place  it  can  be  easily  replaced, 
having  the  mark  for  a guide. 

Right  here  we  will  say  that  before  the  looms  leave  the 
shops  where  they  are  manufactured,  they  are  all  timed 
and  pinned;  and  for  the  information  of  any,  (although 
we  doubt  if  there  are  such)  who  are  as  ignorant  of  such 
things  as  one  fixer  we  have  in  our  mind,  we  will  say  that 
these  pins  which  are  inserted  between  the  teeth  of  the 
bevel  gears  on  the  upright  shaft,  also  on  the  chain  shaft 
gear  and  reverse  pinions,  are  put  there  for  a purpose.  The 
fixer  above  referred  to  having  occasion  to  put  on  a new 
gear  aud  not  giving  heed  to  placing  it  so  that  the  pins 
would  insert  themselves  into  counterbore  in  opposite 
gear,  thought  they  were  in  the  way  and  took  a chisel  and 
cut  them  off. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


57 


It  must  be  apparent  to  any  lixer  that  as  these  gears  are 
all  pinned  it  will  be  impossible  for  any  part,  of  the  Head 
motion  to  go  wrong  so  long  as  these  do  not  get  misplaced. 

And  now  in  regard  to  the  improvements  above  men- 
tioned, the  first  under  our  notice  is  in  the  two  pinions  on 
the  bottom  cylinder  shaft.  On  all  looms  of  recent  date 
these  pinions  have  a chamber  in  w hich  the  spline  may 
work  independent  of  either  pinion.  These  pinions  are 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  width,  and  one-quarter  of  an 
inch  in  each  is  used  for  the  chamber,  which  leaves  a half- 
inch of  spline  bed  on  the  outside  of  each  pinion.  There- 
fore, it  will  make  no  difference  in  what  position  the  cylin- 
der crank  is,  the  spline  can  be  pulled  into  the  chamber, 
then  by  working  tin*  crank  slowly,  it  can  be  drawn  into 
the  Reverse  pinion. 

Another  improvement,  which  has  already  been  men- 
tioned, is,  the  snap  handle  has  been  done  away  with, 
and  the  gear  is  now  fastened  to  the  chain  shaft  with  a 
soft  set  screw. 

'fhe  leading  cause  for  disarrangement,  as  has  already 
been  intimated,  is  in  the  having  one  of  the  chains  kink 
and  run  up  under  the  vibrator  levers.  Occasionally,  how- 
ever, a rivet  may  wear  off,  or  slip  out  and  let  the  vibrator 
gear  fall  into  the  lower  cylinder,  but  in  this  case  almost 
invariably  results  in  unhooking  the  connector  from  the 
harness  jack  without  further  damage. 

The  first,  cause  always  results  more  disastrously,  and 
we  will  call  the  fixer’s  careful  attention  to  the  point  as  he 
5 


58 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS"  MANUAL. 


will  doubtless  be  called  to  adjust  these  parts  which  have 
become  disarranged  from  this  cause. 

We  will  suppose  that  in  building  the  chains  proper  care 
was  not  taken  in  placing  the  links  according  to  instruc- 
tions, and  in  consequence  the  chain  kinks  and  runs  up 
double. 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  when  the  chain  has  gone  as 
far  as  possible  that  the  chain  shaft  must  stop. 

Something  must  give  way. 

As  has  been  stated  the  casting  which  holds  the  Snap 
handle  on  the  old  loom,  and  the  chain  shaft  gear  on  the 
new,  are  fastened  to  the  chain  shaft  with  a soft  set  screw, 
which  inserts  itself  into  a hole  drilled  into  the  shaft.  A 
very  important  lesson  is  to  be  learned  right  here. 

This  set  screw  is  made  soft  so  that  in  case  the  chain 
should  catch,  or  any  thing  get  misplaced  to  hold  the 
shaft  from  turning,  this  screw  will  shear  off  and  no  fur- 
ther damage  be  done. 

In  the  example  which  we  have  before  us,  the  chain 
runs  double  as  far  as  possible  and  the  strain  all  comes  on 
the  screw  which  shears  off  and  lets  the  shaft  revolve. 

A case  came  under  the  writer's  observation  at  one  time 
where  this  happened  several  times  in  succession,  and  the 
fixer  who  entertained  no  very  intelligent  ideas  on  cause 
and  effect,  procured  a steel  set  screw,  thinking  to  obviate 
the  trouble  by  fastening  it  in  that  way.  Fixers  must 
learn  that  cause  will  have  its  effect,  and  if  difficulties  are 
overcome  the  cause  must  be  removed.  To  strike  a blow 
at  the  effect  will  not  remove  the  cause. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


59 


As  in  the  above  instance,  it  the  chain  had  been  proper- 
ly constructed,  due  care  having  been  taken  to  see  that 
every  part  was  perfectly  pliable  and  in  working  order, 
there  would  have  been  no  trouble ; but  as  it  proved  to  be, 
in  one  place  links  were  found  lapping  by  each  other 
which  caused  the  chain  to  bind  and  to  run  up  under  the 
levers  double. 

The  steel  set  screw  having  been  put  in  did  not  prevent 
the  chain  from  catching  as  the  fixer  learned  in  due  time. 
The  loom  was  started,  however,  and  very  soon  he  was 
called  again.  This  time  he  did  not  find  the  set  screw 
sheared  off,  but  he  found  every  tooth  in  the  chain  shaft 
pinion  gone.  But  we  have  drifted  away  from  the  point 
we  were  intending  to  touch. 

How  is  the  chain  shaft  gear  to  be  set  after  having  been 
misplaced?  On  the  loom  where  the  snap  handle  is  used 
it  is  done  in  this  way:  remove  the  set  screw,  and  then 
with  a cold-chisel  placed  between  the  casting  and  chain 
shaft  gear,  serving  as  a wedge,  strike  several  blows  with 
a light  hammer,  and  it  will  be  found  to  start  quite  easily. 

Procure  another  set  screw  very  soft,  unless  the  same 
one  is  long  enough  to  use  again.  Replace  the  Snap  han- 
dle, being  guided  by  the  mark  above  mentioned,  which 
had  previously  been  made  with  cold-chisel,  on  end  of 
shaft  and  casting. 

The  same  rule  is  good  where  no  snap  handle  is  used. 

In  case  the  hole  in  the  chain  shaft  becomes  worn  so 
that  the  set  screw  does  not  hold  the  gear  in  just  t he  place 
it  ought,  it  will  be  remembered  that  there  are  five  other 


60 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


places  where  a hole  may  be  made  for  the  screw.  After 
having  replaced  the  gear  and  set  screw,  run  the  cylinder 
crank  over  several  times,  pulling  out  the  reverse  Knob  to 
make  sure  that  it  works  both  ways. 

Now  the  reverse  Knob  may  be  pushed  in,  the  clutch 
locked,  and  the  loom  is  ready  to  start. 

In  closing  these  chapters  on  the  Knowles  loom,  a few 
practical  hints  and  general  rules  might  be  given  which 
may  be  found  of  great  advantage  to  the  inexperienced 
fixer.  In  the  first  place,  then,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
boxes  set  on  a Eest  so  arranged  that  they  can  be  lifted 
out  and  replaced  without  any  trouble  whatever. 

No  packing  should  be  put  under  or  around  them  in  any 
way.  To  time  the  boxes,  we  again  quote  from  manu- 
script previously  referred  to.  “Bring  the  lay  forward  to 
protection,  loosen  the  two  set  screws  that  fasten  the 
small  spur  gear  to  the  crank  shaft,  and  with  the  clutch 
at  bottom  of  upright  shaft,  locked , turn  the  cylinder  gear 
crank  forward  until  the  box  rises  34  °f  an  inch,  then 
fasten  the  set  screw.  This  times  both  the  box  and  har- 
ness motion.” 

In  working  the  old  style  of  compound  levers,  if  at  any 
time  one  of  the  boxes  should  be  too  low  and  another  too 
high,  they  can  be  regulated  by  the  little  slide  at  the  top 
of  the  levers,  on  about  the  same  principle  as  one  part  of 
the  new  style  of  levers  which  has  been  spoken  of. 

The  vibrator  gears  should  be  kept  as  closely  in  the  top 
cylinder  as  possible  and  work  easily;  this  can  be  done 
with  the  set  screws  under  the  boxes  at  each  end  of  the 
chain  shaft. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


61 


In  referring  again  to  the  cylinder,  Mr.  Knowles  says  as 
follows:  “For  very  light  work  the  teeth  on  both  harness 
and  box  sections  should  be  in  line  with  each  other;  for 
medium  work  the  harness  section  should  be  about  4 teeth 
ahead  of  the  box  section ; and  for  very  heavy  work  7 
teeth  ahead,  which  is  the  limit  of  adjustment.” 

The  object  of  the  lock-knife  is  to  hold  the  vibrators  in- 
to bottom  cylinder,  the  arrangement  is  very  simple,  and 
the  parts  easily  adjusted. 

If  at  any  time  the  knife  appears  to  be  late  in  moving 
back  or  locking  in,  the  fixer  must  not  be  hasty  in  think- 
ink  the  trouble  is  with  the  Knife,  for  the  cam  which  op- 
erates this  is  Keyed  to  the  bottom  cylinder  shaft,  but  look 
first  and  see  if  the  chain  shaft  is  moving  on  time. 

Whenever  the  weaver  has  a break-out  in  the  warp,  the 
harnesses  may  all  be  brought  to  a level  in  the  manner 
above  described  by  pulling  out  the  Evener  slide  and  turn- 
ing the  crank  once  over. 

The  relative  position  of  the  two  chains  can  never  be 
changed  after  being  adjusted  without  unfastening  and 
removing  them  from  the  shaft. 


PART  III. 


CAM  LOOM  WEAVING  & MIS- 
CELLANEOUS ITEMS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

RULES  FOR  THE  PRODUCTION  OF  CLOTH  ON  CAM  LOOMS. 

To  acquire  a competent  knowledge  of  any  art,  it  must 
be  learned  either  by  reading,  verbal  teaching,  observation 
and  reflection,  or  by  actual  practice;  and  it  is  of  the  ut- 
most importance  to  the  apprentice  in  any  branch  of  busi- 
ness to  be  told  the  theory  of  it,  and  shown  how  to  use 
the  tools  connected  with  that  particular  branch,  and  it 
must  be  of  use  to  the  apprentice  or  a young  beginner  in 
the  weaving  trade.  Believing  this,  I have  written  this 
chapter  in  hopes  to  aid  those,  who  are  running  cam  looms, 
in  producing  different  patterns.  I think  I have  given  full 
explanations  and  such  instructions,  that  any  one,  with 
ordinary  capacity  and  perseverance,  may  learn  the  theory 
of  the  art.  The  writer,  when  a beginner  in  the  trade, 
often  felt  the  want  of  such  information,  and  considering 
that  others  might  be  similarly  situated,  was  induced  to 
write  these  pages. 

DRAFTING  CLOTH  FROM  SAMPLE. 

Take  the  piece  of  cloth  you  intend  to  get  the  pattern 


64 


TIIE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MAXL'AL. 


from,  hold  the  f;tce  towards  you,  and  pick  out  to  the 
depth  of  half  an  inch ; then  hold  the  piece  to  be  drafted 
between  your  thumb  and  forefinger,  cutting  off  all  the 
threads  of  filling  except  those  you  intend  to  get  the  pat- 
tern from — say  from  eight  to  eighty  threads  or  as  many 
as  the  pattern  may  require; — then  raise  the  threads  of 
warp,  one  at  a time,  so  as  to  look  under  and  see  how  the 
threads  of  filling  run;  then  begin  on  the  side  towards 
your  right  hand,  and  set  them  down  on  the  designing  pa- 
per reading  up  like  a column  of  units  in  arithmetic  : every 
thread  of  filling  that  runs  over  the  warp  mark  as  one 
down , and  every  thread  of  filling  that  runs  under  the  warp 
mark  as  one  up.  Now  raise  another  thread  and  look  un- 
der and  see  how  it  runs;  then  begin  to  set  it  down  at  the 
left  of  the  first  line  as  you  would  a column  of  tens  in 
arithmetic.  Always  begin  with  the  same  thread  of  filling 
to  work  from  ; pick  out  until  your  pattern  repeats;  then 
you  know  that  you  have  got  the  pattern  required,  that  is, 
that  the  cloth  is  nothing  more  than  a repeating  or  com- 
bining of  many  patterns.  If  your  sample  was  plain  cloth 
you  will  find  that,  on  looking  at  the  following  pickout: 
1 *^le  ^hal  line  is  just  the  duplicate  of  the  first, 
nijg!t  2 and  the  fourth  is  a duplicate  of  the  second,  and 
i23(  so  on  it  would  be  through  the  whole  of  the  cloth. 

As  the  horizontal  of  the  designing  paper  represents 
the  number  of  harnesses  it  takes  to  make  the  pattern,  up 
and  down  on  the  designing  paper  represents  the  number 
of  picks  it  takes  to  -weave  the  pattern.  Now  if  your  pat- 
tern begins  to  repeat  so  that  your  first  horizontal  row  is 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


65 


like  the  third,  and  the  second  is  like  the  fourth,  you 
know  it  takes  two  harnesses  and  two  picks  to  make  the 
pattern.  If  the  pattern  requires  three,  four,  Avp,  or  up  to 
one  hundred  before  it  repeats,  that  shows  that  the  pattern 
is  thus  large.  All  patterns  are  not  square;  and  there  may 
he  more  harnesses  than  picks,  and  vice  versa , or  they  may 
be  square.  After  you  practice  a while  you  will  see  the 
resemblance  of  your  sample  on  the  paper. 

Having  got  your  pattern  as  it  is  woven;  now  examine 
the  twist  in  both  the  filling  and  warp,  and  have  your  yarn 
twisted  like  the  sample,  or  you  can  never  produce  the 
same  pattern.  To  find  the  number  of  ends  in  the  warp 
count  the  number  of  threads  in  one  inch  and  multiply 
that  by  the  number  of  inches  the  cloth  is  wide.  If  it  is 
single  width,  then  it  is  27  inches  wide;  this  gives  you  the 
number  of  threads  in  the  warp.  Now  calculate  your  reed 
from  those  threads  obtained  in  your  calculation. 

In  calculating  reeds,  divide  the  number  of  threads  in 
the  warp  by  the  number  of  inches  you  wish  to  lay  goods 
in  the  reed,  that  gives  you  the  number  of  threads  to  one 
inch,  and  this  divided  by  the  number  of  threads  wanted 
in  a dent  will  give  you  the  required  reed. 

If  you  have  a plain  doeskin  pattern  of  1760  threads  in 
the  warp,  and  you  wish  to  lay  it  36  inches  wide  in  the 
loom,  a reed  of  10  dents  to  the  inch  and  5 threads  in  a 
dent,  will  make  35  inches  and  two  dents  over,  then  put 
in  the  selvage,  which  reeds  an  inch  on  a side,  and  you 
have  all  told,  little  over  37  inches  reeded  yarn  ; but  it  will 
make  just  about  36  inches  of  cloth  when  oft'  the  loom. 


66 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


Doeskins  twist  towards  you  in  warp;  in  tilling  from  you. 
Twills,  wind  on  the  right  of  the  bobbin,  when  they  are 
produced  by  the  loom  and  filling. 

SPOOLING  AND  DRESSING  PLAIN  DOESKIN  W ARPS. 

The  spooler  drum  is  one  yard  round;  dresser  reel  is 
three  and  a half  yards  round;  4 run  yarn,  1760  ends  in 
warp;  40  ends  on  a spool:  three  warps  112  teeth  on  the 
spooler  clock;  72  teeth  on  the  dresser  clock ; 4 sections, 
and  11  spools  to  a section. 

CALCULATING  RUNS  OF  WOOLEN  YARN. 

All  honest  reels  are  just  two  yards  round;  40  threads 
round  the  reel  make  a knot,  or  80  yards;  10  knots  make 
a skein,  or  800  yards;  2 skeins  make  a run,  or  1600  yards. 

CALCULATING  STRIPED  WARPS. 

Count  the  different  colors  and  see  where  they  repeat  and 
see  how  many  patterns  there  are  in  a section;  then  start 
with  one-half  of  a pattern,  and  end  with  one-half  a pat- 
tern, so  they  will  come  together  right  when  you  change 
sections. 

COMBINING  PATTERNS  IN  THE  CAMS. 

□linn  12  These  patterns  are  the  two  smallest  that 
2P2HK  £ can  be  woven  with  two  harnesses,  and  two 

Hi [■□Li  O ^ 

■□nnS  i picks  long,  and  three  harnesses  and  three 
1 2 3 4 5 picks  long;  as  two  will  not  go  in  three  with- 

out a remainder,  so  we  have  to  repeat  the  patterns  until 
they  will  come  together.  In  these  two  patterns  we  have 
to  make  the  plain  cloth  pattern  three  times  over,  and  the 
three  pick  pattern  twice  over,  so  three  in  six  twice,  two 
in  six  three  times.  Xow  every  dot  represents  a harness 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


67 


up,  and  where  there  is  no  dot,  represents  a harness  down. 
CALCULATING  CAMS  TO  WEAVE  THE  PATTERNS  THAT 
CAN  BE  MADE  ON  THE  STAFFORD  LOOM. 

I have  learned  by  observation  and  experience,  that 
there  are  no  other  proportions  that  will  work  the  patterns 
smoothly  and  perfectly,  except  these  I lay  down  in  this 
rule.  If  there  is  any  change  necessary  it  is  in  the  shoe, 
and  not  in  the  proportion  of  the  cam. 

I lay  out  my  circle  equally  into  10,  12,  14,  16,  18  and 
20  parts  on  those  dials.  All  the  different  cams  can  be 
produced  that  can  be  worked  on  cam  looms. 

DRAFTING  UPRIGHT  CAMS  FOR  DOESKINS. 
■iS"5  Take  a pair  of  dividers  and  cut  a circle  ten 
□■■■*  inches  across  on  a good  smooth  board:  divide 
■shhu  2 it  into  ten  equal  parts,  lining  it  straight 
from  the  centre  to  circumference  of  circle; 
then  cut  out  ten  leaves  S % inches  in  diameter  on  press 
paper,  cut  them  out  perfectly  round ; then  take  a sweep 
made  so  it  will  have  a straight  edge  on  one  side 
from  the  centre  to  circumference;  put  on  one  leaf, 
and  put  a screw  through  your  sweep  so  as  to  be  able  to 
turn  it ; now  take  seven-tenths  of  the  circle  and  cut  out 
three-tenths;  now  the  other  four  leaves  in  the  same  pro- 
portions. This  is  the  top  cam.  The  bottom  is  made  by 
the  same  tools.  Put  on  your  circle  another  leaf  of  press 
paper,  put  your  sweep  on  as  before,  cut  out  nine-tenths, 
leaving  one-tenth  in  this.  After  you  have  drawn  your 
lines,  take  the  dividers  and  space  next  to  hub  of  an 
inch  on  a side.  Take  a straight  piece  of  tin  and  mark 


68 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


from  those  points  each  side  direct  to  the  outside  point  of 
the  one-tenth  of  circle,  so  as  to  strengthen  the  castings, 
for  if  left  too  weak  next  to  the  hub  it  is  liable  to  break  at 
that  point.  Now  the  top  cam  would  be  very  heavy;  so 
we  take  a straight  piece  of  tin ; after  you  have  marked 
round  inch  from  the  outside  with  a pair  of  dividers, 
take  the  tin  straight-edge,  mark  down  to  the  hub  }2  inch 
from  the  outside,  leave  two  spokes  y>  an  inch  wide,  which 
will  leave  it  strong  enough  for  all  practical  purposes. 

These  leaves  are  to  be  % of  an  inch  thick  when  sent  to 
the  pattern-makers.  Now  observe  that  proportions  and 
locations  are  taken  from  the  pattern  as  it  is  taken  from  the 
cloth,  as  you  will  see  illustrated  in  the  rule  for  drafting. 

Now  we  will  locate  these  cams  so  that  they  will  pro- 
duce the  pattern  laid  out.  As  your  circle  is  divided  into 
ten  parts,  we  will  number  them  for  convenience;  we  will 
lay  one  leaf  on  the  circle — let  it  be  put  on  with  centres — 
perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  put  a wire  into  the  centre 
so  as  to  keep  them  perfect  at  that  point.  Now  the  pat- 
tern, as  it  comes  from  the  cloth,  is  put  on  a piece  of  de- 
signing paper,  making  25  points,  five  each  way.  Now  as 
each  leaf  represents  an  up  and  down  line  on  the  design 
paper,  each  dot  or  mark  represents  one  harness  up.  Jn 
this  line  there  are  two  up,  one  down,  two  up,  each  one 
represents  two  on  the  dial  or  circle.  Always  beginning 
with  your  largest  number  on  the  dial,  we  will  begin  at 
ten;  on  this  we.  take  two;  that  brings  us  up  to  four  on 
the  circle;  turn  your  leaf  to  the  figure  four,  and  fasten 
it  by  tacking  it  to  the  board.  You  will  see  by  examining 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


69 


that  as  you  set  it  up  to  the  four,  then  miss  one,  take  two 
counts  from  the  four  to  six,  then  take  two,  then  count 
from  six  to  ten,  cutting  one-tenth  off  for  a change  of  har- 
ness, carries  you  up  to  ten,  and  back  to  seven ; from 
seven  to  six  is  what  is  cutoff  for  a change;  thus  you 
see  the  proportion  and  location. 

Now  we  will  take  the  second  leaf;  [Hit  on  another  leaf. 
The  next  is  take  four,  miss  one,  two  times  4 is  8,  tu  n 
your  leaf  up  to  eight  and  fasten  it  there;  now  we  will 
take  the  third  leaf,  that  is,  take  one,  turn  up  to  two,  and 
fasten  it  there,  miss  one  take  three;  put  another  leaf  on 
the  fourth  one,  take  three  and  miss  one,  take  one;  so  you 
count  up  to  six,  put  your  leaf  on  there  and  fasten;  the 
fifth  and  last  one  of  the  top  is  miss  one,  take  four,  count 
two,  miss  three,  count  eight,  that  brings  you  up  to  ten ; 
put  your  leaf  there  and  fasten;  now  put  an  awl  through 
one  side  of  the  hub,  and  you  can  take  them  off  the  circle, 
numbering  5,  4,  3,  2,  1 ; now  put  them  on  a small  screw, 
put  No.  1 first,  put  a screw  through  the  hole  on  the 
side  of  hub  and  centre:  now  put  on  No.  2,  putting  them 
on  those  screws ; now  No.  3,  4,  and  5,  and  that  part  is 
ready  for  the  pattern-makers. 

Now  we  will  lay  out  the  bottom  and  locate  them.  We 
miss  two,  take  one,  which  would  bring  us  up  to  six,  cut 
off  one-tenth,  then  we  come  between  five  and  six;  now 
put  on  a leaf,  turn  up  to  six  and  fasten  there;  now  take' 
the  second  leaf,  that  is  miss  four,  take  one,  which  would 
bring  you  up  to  ten,  fasten  there;  put  the  third  leaf  on, 
miss  one,  take  one,  that  brings  us  up  to  four,  fasten  there; 


70 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL 


put  on  a leaf,  the  fourth  one,  that  is  miss  three,  take  one, 
that  brings  us  to  eight,  fasten  there-;  put  on  a leaf,  the 
liftli  one,  that  is  take  one,  miss  four,  that  brings  us  up  to 
two,  fasten  there;  put  an  awl  through  one  side  of  the. 
hub,  take  them  off,  numbering  5,  4,  3,  2,  1 ; then  put  on 
small  screws;  you  can  put  a leather  nut  on  the  screws; 
now  the  pattern  is  ready  to  send  to  the  pattern-makers; 
when  fitted  up,  put  them  on  the  shaft  so  the  bottom  will 
stand  in  the  middle  space  in  the  top.  Some  like  it  better 
to  set  them  vice  versa,  and  finish  the  back  or  warp  side. 

DRAFTING  ON  THE  SEVERAL  CIRCLES. 

Mentioned  on  the  twelve,  those  we  cut  one-twelfth  for 
a change  of  harness ; when  we  put  a four-pick  pattern  in- 
to that,  we  divide  it  into  four  parts;  in  short,  we  always 
divide  the  circle  by  the  number  of  picks  in  the  pattern. 
We  sometimes,  in  combining  and  doubling  up  patterns, 
have  to  divide  by  the  number  of  picks  we  proposed,  and 
calculate  our  gears  from  the  length  of  patterns.  The 
gears  for  cams,  two  picks,  we  double  up  so  as  to  make  it 
4 or  6 picks;  four  picks  is  a sixteen  on  pinion  shaft, 
thirty-two  on  cam  shaft;  or  the  pinion  gear  is  one-half 
as  large  as  the  cam  gear.  Six  picks  is  sixteen  on  pinion 
shaft,  forty-eight  on  cam  shaft;  five  picks,  sixteen  on 
pinion  shaft,  forty  on  cam  shaft;  seven  picks,  sixteen  on 
pinion  shaft,  fifty-six  on  cam  shaft;  eight  picks,  sixteen 
on  pinion  shaft,  sixty-four  on  cam  shaft;  nine  picks,  six- 
teen on  pinion  shaft,  seventy-two  on  cam  shaft : ten  picks, 
sixteen  on  pinion  shaft,  eighty  on  cam  shaft.  On  the  cir- 
cle of  fourteen  parts  we  cut  off  one-fourteenth  for  a 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS*  MANUAL. 


71 


change;  on  the  one  with  sixteen  part  we  cut  oft'  one-six- 
teenth part  for  a change;  on  the  eighteenth  we  cut  oil' 
one-eighteenth  for  a change;  on  the  twentieth  we  cut  off 
one-twentieth  for  a change.  Now  for  any  pattern  that 
can  be  put  into  a cam  as  you  get  it  from  the  cloth,  or 
from  any  other  source,  you  can  make,  and  calculate  your 
cams  to  weave  the  patterns  you  desire  to  produce.  All 
patterns  have  been  invented,  they  never  grew,  but  were 
made  by  some  one. 

The  example  in  the  rule  for  combining  is  plain  cloth 
and  three-harness  twill;  the  first  two  lines  are  the  plain 
cloth,  and  the  other  three  are  the  twill.  Now  we  will 
draft  a cam  to  weave  them.  As  they  are  combined,  the 
patterns  count  six  picks,  so  we  take  two-twelfths  for  a 
pick ; the  first  one  is  miss  one,  take  one,  miss  one,  take 
one,  miss  one,  take  one,  our  first  one  counts  up  to  four, 
and  we  set  the  cam  between  three  and  four.  The  next  is 
set  between  seven  and  eight,  and  the  third  is  set  between 
eleven  and  twelve.  These  are  the  three  positions  of  the 
cams;  it  has  three  raisers  in  a revolution  on  the  plain 
cloth  cam;  the  first  is  located  between  one  and  two,  the 
second  is  between  five  and  six,  the  third  between  nine  and 
ten  ; you  will  see  by  referring  to  your  dial  how  they  stand. 

The  three-harness  pattern  is  located,  the  first  between 
live  and  six,  the  second  is  located  between  eleven  and 
twelve;  the  pattern  reads,  miss  two,  take  one,  miss  two, 
take  one;  the  next  leaf  is  located  between  three  and  four, 
next  between  nine  and  ten;  the  next  leaf  is  located  be- 
tween one  and  two,  the  _ next  between  seven  and  eight. 


72 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL 


Now  cut  ten  circles  inches  in  diameter  perfectly 
round,  put  the  leaf  on  to  your  board  with  twelve  divisions, 
count  up  and  cut  them  as  they  come  on  the  circle;  one- 
twelfth  is  the  proportion  for  the  top  part  of  this  cam ; 
then  locate  as  indicated  above.  The  bottom  cam  is  the 
same  proportion  in  the  plain  cloth : they  are  set  so  as  to 
have  the  top  come  just  in  the  middle  of  the  open  space 
on  the  bottom. 

The  bottom  cams  of  the  three-harness  twill  is  of  this 
proportion  : it  holds  down  two  picks,  is  three-twelfths  of 
the  circle;  take  two,  miss  one,  take  two,  miss  one.  We 
cover  from  one  to  four,  and  then  from  seven  to  ten;  this 
is  the  proportion  and  location.  Now  the  second  leaf  of 
twill  is,  take  one,  miss  one,  take  two, miss  one,  rake  one; 
we  cover  from  eleven  to  two,  and  from  live  to  eight.  The 
third  leaf  on  twill  is  miss  one,  take  two,  miss  one.  take 
two ; we  cover  from  three  to  six,  and  from  nine  to  twelve. 

The  conical  shoe  that  works  with  this  cam  is  drafted 
thus:  two  and  three-eights  inches  to  point  of  cone,  with 
a half  inch  face,  three  and  three-quarter  inches  base,  with 
a centre  mark  one  and  a half  inch:  s from  the  back  end, 
leaving  two  and  a quarter  inches ; now  from  these  ends 
draw  a line  and  you  have  the  right  proportion  of  shoe  for 
eight  picks,  and  all  under  that  number;  you  can  make 
the  base  to  suit  yourself. 

The  shoe  for  eight,  nine,  or  ten  picks,  is  drafted  this 
way:  it  is  conical  in  shape,  two  and  three-quarter  inches 
from  base  to  point  of  cone;  make  a half  inch  face  on  the 
points,  and  then  draw  a base  line  two  and  three-quarter 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


73 


inches,  and  line  from  the  ends  of  line  on  face  and 
base  lines;  you  can  make  the  base  to  suit  yourself. 

SATINET  CAM. 

■□□□  14  3’his  pattern  is  put  in  the  cam  twice  over,  and 
J2  makes  an  eight-pick  pattern  of  it.  Now  to 
« draft  a cam  for  it,  we  miss  three,  take  one,  miss 
□□□■  2 three,  take  one;  we  cover  between  seven  and 
1234  eight,  and  fifteen  and  sixteen,  leaving  one-six- 
teenth on  the  back  end  of  our  counting,  always  covering 
up  to  the  counting;  the  second  leaf  is  miss  one,  take  one, 
miss  three,  take  one;  we  cover  between  three  and  four; 
the  next  is  between  eleven  and  twelve;  and  third  leaf  is, 
miss  two,  take  one,  miss  three,  take  one;  we  cover  be- 
tween five  and  six ; the  next  is  between  thirteen  and  four- 
teen ; the  fourth  leaf  is,  take  one,  miss  three,  take  one ; 
we  cover  between  one  and  two;  next  nine  and  ten;  this 
is  the  top  cam. 

The  bottom  cam  for  a four-harness  satinet,  reads : — 
take  three,  miss  one,  take  three,  cut  oft'  a sixteenth  for  a 
change  of  harness;  we  cover  between  one  and  six;  and 
next  between  nine  and  fourteen ; the  second  leaf  is,  take 
one,  miss  one,  take  three,  miss  one,  take  two.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  the  extremes  come  together;  so  we  cover  be- 
tween fifteen  and  four,  and  next  between  seven  and 
twelve;  the  third  is,  take  two,  miss  one.  take  three,  miss 
one,  take  one,  covers  between  fifteen  and  four;  the  next 
is  between  seven  and  twelve;  the  fourth  leaf  is,  miss  one, 
take  three,  miss  one,  take  three;  we  cover  between 
6 


74 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


three  and  eight;  next  is  between  eleven  and  sixteen. 
DIAMOND  CAM  ON  THREE  HARNESSES. 

Miss  two,  take  one,  miss  two,  take  one;  Xo.  1 
leaf  the  first  earn,  between  five  and  six,  the  next 
is  between  eleven  and  twelve;  Xo.  2 leaf  is  miss 
one,  take  one,  miss  one,  take  one;  the  first  is 
covered  between  three  and  four,  the  next  is  cov- 
ered between  seven  and  eight;  Xo.  3 leaf  is  take 
one,  miss  three,  take  one ; the  first  is  covered  between 
one  and  two,  the  next  is  between  nine  and  ten.  On  the 
bottom  part  of  the  three-harness  diamond  cam,  the  Xo.  1 
leaf  is  take  two,  miss  one,  take  two ; the  first  is  covered 
between  one  and  four,  the  next  is  covered  between  seven 
and  ten ; Xo.  2 leaf  is,  take  one,  miss  one,  take  one,  miss 
one,  take  two ; the  first  is  covered  between  nine  and  two, 
the  next  is  covered  between  five  and  six;  Xo.  3 leaf  is, 
miss  one,  take  three,  miss  one,  take  one;  the  first  is  cov- 
ered between  three  and  eight,  the  next  is  covered  between 
eleven  and  twelve. 

DRAFTING  THE  OLD  FASHION  FOUR-PICK  AND 
FOUR-HARNESS  CAM. 

3nSn  *§  No.  1 leaf  is,  miss  three,  take  one,  as  it  takes 
Dlinn  6 three-twelfths  for  one  pick,  so  we  cut  off  one- 
i23i  twelfth  for  a change;  this  covers  between  four 
and  six;  Xo.  3 leaf  is,  miss  two  and  take  one:  we  cover 
between  seven  and  nine;  Xo.  4 leaf  4 3 2 1 is,  take  one, 
miss  three;  we  cover  between  one  and  three.  Bottom 
cam  of  the  old-fashion  four-pick  and  four-harness  cam — 
No.  1 leaf  is,  take  three ; we  cover  between  one  and  nine  : 


■nn  12 
nn«  io 


nan 
■nn 
n*n 
□n* 
an  6 
snn 
mn 

n«3 

■ 2n 
nnu 


THE  LOOJI-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


75 

No.  2 leaf  is,  take  one,  miss  one,  take  two;  we  cover 
from  seven  to  three ; eight-twelfths  are  covered;  No.  3 
leaf  is,  take  two,  miss  one,  take  two;  we  cover  between 
ten  and  six;  No.  4 leaf  is,  miss  one,  take  three;  we  cov- 
er between  four  and  twelve. 

PLAIN  CLOTH  CAMS,  WOVEN  ON  FOUR  HARNESSES 
AND  FOUR  PICKS. 

■gin  No.  1 leaf  is,  miss  one,  take  one,  miss  one,  take 
SSSS  one;  the  first  is  covered  between  one  and  three; 
1234  the  second  is  between  seven  and  nine ; No.  2 leaf 
is,  take  one,  miss  one,  take  one ; the  first  is  covered  be- 
tween one  and  three ; the  second  between  seven  and  nine ; 
No.  3 leaf  is,  miss  one,  take  one,  miss  one,  take  one:  we 
cover  between  four  and  six;  No.  4 leaf  is.  take  one,  miss 
one,  take  one;  we  cover  between  one  and  three;  the 
second  is  between  seven  and  nine. 

LASQUINETT  PATTERN. 

□P55I  m This  pattern  is  well  adapted  for  woolen 

■„|Bj  12  1 1 

SSmS  X8  warp  3 run  yarn,  filling  4 run,  1440 

nn*HM  4 thrPil<ls : left  twist  in  the  warp,  filling  right 
□■■■□  2 twist.  The  top  cam — No.  1 leaf  is,  miss  one, 

12  3 4 5 

take  one,  miss  two,  take  two;  we  cover  be- 
tween three  and  four,  the  second  we  cover  between  nine 
and  twelve:  No.  2 leaf  is,  take  four;  we  cover  from  one 
to  eight;  No.  3 leaf  is,  take  three,  miss  two,  take  two; 
we  cover  from  eleven  round  to  six;  five  picks  up;  No.  4 
leaf  is,  take  one,  miss  three,  take  three;  we  cover  from 
nine  round  to  two;  No.  5 leaf  is  miss  two,  take  two,  miss 
two,  take  two ; we  cover  from  five  to  eight,  the  second 


76 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


from  thirteen  to  fourteen.  Xo.  1 of  bottom  leaf  is,  take 
one,  miss  one,  take  two,  miss  two,  take  one ; we  cover 
from  thirteen  round  to  two,  from  five  to  eight;  Xo.  2 
bottom  leaf,  miss  four,  take  three;  we  cover  from  nine 
to  fourteen;  Xo.  3 bottom  leaf,  miss  three,  take  two, 
miss  two ; we  cover  from  seven  to  ten ; Xo.  4 bottom  leaf 
miss  one,  take  three,  miss  three;  we  cover  from  three  to 
eight;  Xo.  5 bottom  leaf,  take  two,  miss  two,  take  two; 
we  cover  from  one  to  four,  second  from  nine  to  twelve. 

MAKING  AND  SETTING  UP  THE  SHELL  CAM. 
■□□□  32  This  is  done  by  plates  and  blocks,  the 
24  plates  are  cast  thin,  nine  inches  in  diameter, 
■ : * is  slotted  and  put  on  a spline,  drilled  by  an 
J|  index  into  20,  24  and  32  holes,  put  on  to  shaft 
□□nil  4 so  situated  that  all  the  holes  will  correspond 
1234  with  each  other,  and  so  that  the  20  top 

and  bottom  holes  will  be  in  a direct  line,  and  on  with  the 
24  and  32  holes.  There  tire  blocks  to  cover  these  holes 
as  the  patterns  require.  The  range  is  from  two  picks  up 
to  eight,  and  from  two  harnesses  up  to  eight.  They  are 
set  up  by  dividing  the  number  of  holes  by  the  patterns  to 
be  set  up,  and  calculating  your  blocks  by  the  patterns. 
For  this  pattern  you  take  the  32  holes,  S in  32  four  times; 
four  holes  make  one  pick  in  this  pattern,  so  we  count  six- 
teen holes  and  leave  two  holes  for  a change,  covering  two 
holes,  setting  up  to  our  counting  as  the  other.  Up  to 
your  starting  point  you  set  a block  up;  to  that  point  we 
say  miss  three,  take  one,  miss  three,  take  one,  so  we  count- 
twelve,  miss  them,  take  four,  leaving  two  holes  for  a 
change;  then  we  put  on  another  plate,  etc.,  with  the  other 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


77 

leaves.  The  bottom  is  put  up  in  this  way:  Take  a 
straight-edge  and  fill  up  the  cam  within  two  holes  of  the 
blocks  on  top  on  each  side,  so  that  the  top  will  stand  in 
the  middle  of  the  open  space  in  the  bottom,  and  so  on 
through  the  whole  pattern. 

BEAVER  CLOTH  ON  FOUR  HARNESSES. 

2*n5  i-»  -Eight  picks  long — leaf  No.  1 \ye  say:  take 
□■■■  io  three,  miss  three,  take  one;  we  cover  from  one 
■■■n  6 t0  si^'froui  thirteen  to  fourteen;  No.  2 leaf  is, 
■BS*  ’ miss  two,  take  one,  miss  one,  take  three ; we 
1234  cover  from  five  to  six,  from  nine  to  fourteen ; 
No.  3 leaf,  take  one,  miss  one,  take  three;  we  cover  from 
one  to  two,  and  from  five  to  ten ; No.  4 leaf,  take  one, 
miss  three,  take  one,  miss  one,  take  two;  we  cover  from 
thirteen  round  to  two,  and  from  nine  to  ten.  The  bottom 
is  like  the  top.  All  patterns  that  can  be  put  into  the  up- 
right cams  can  be  put  into  the  side  treadle  looms.  The 
same  proportion  is  right  for  all  cam  looms.  In  locating 
the  patterns  for  the  side  treadle  looms  with  two  shoes  on 
one  treadle,  it  is  necessary  to  locate  your  pattern  produc- 
er on  a board,  with  its  treadle,  so  as  to  locate  your  fol- 
lower right,  put  them  together  where  they  will  turn 
smooth,  and  move  the  treadle  out  and  in. 

SLOTTING  CAMS. 

When  you  wish  to  locate  them  to  produce  the  patterns 
required,  lay  out  the  circle  that  the  pattern  requires,  count 
up  and  make  the  place  for  the  slot,  making  a mark  on  the 
bearing  you  revolve  the  plate  on  to  represent  the  spline 
on  the  shaft;  then  count  up  the  next  leaf,  making  the 


78 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


place  for  the  slot  with  the  last,  and  so  on  through  the 
pattern. 

SETTING  UP  NEW  LOOMS  AND  TIMING  THEM. 

Set  them  straight  with  the  main  line  of  shafting,  level 
them,  strap  up,  and  time  them  by  bringing  the  shuttle 
motion  so  that  the  shuttle  will  start  sufficiently  slow  as 
not  to  press  off  the  selvage  threads ; set  the  crank  per- 
pendicular when  your  shuttle  starts;  now  bring  the  cam 
or  whatever  raises  the  harnesses, — for  you  know  that  a 
selvage,  whether  crank,  eccentric,  or  heart  motion,  is 
nothing  more  than  a plain  cloth  weave — so  time  your 
harnesses  on  a rising  shed,  turn  up  until  it  is  just  wide 
open  for  the  shuttle ; your  lay  will  be  from  two  to  three 
inches  from  the  cloth. 

After  you  begin  to  weave,  spring  your  loom,  hold  the 
shuttle  back  in  the  box,  and  turn  over  slowly  so  as  to  see 
whether  the  shuttle  presses  on  the  selvage;  it  ought  to 
clear  it  so  that  no  friction  will  come  upon  them.  In  start- 
ing new  looms,  you  want  to  run  the  shafts  a while  and 
put  in  a reed,  and  set  your  protection  finger  and  put  your 
shuttle  in  to  see  how  it  will  work.  When  you  are  satis- 
fied that  all  is  right,  put  your  warp  in,  hang  it  so  that  it 
will  not  touch  either  the  race  plate  or  reed  rail.  In  work- 
ing, straps  all  new  will  stretch ; so  you  will  have  to  draw 
them  up  until  they  are  in  their  proper  places. 

* * * I will  withhold  any  further  remarks,  as  I have 
been  plain  enough  for  any  man  who  will  study  the  rules 
laid  down,  so  that  he  can  take  his  patterns  from  cloth 
and  produce  them  again  in  the  loom. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


79 


CHAPTER  II. 

SPREADING  THE  WARP  THREADS  IN  THE  PROCESS  OF 
WEAVING. 

The  reader  may  be  disposed  to  ask,  and  it  may  be  as 
well  to  explain  at  the  outset,  what  is  meant  by  “spread- 
ing the  warp  threads  in  the  process  of  weaving.”  It  is  a 
method  by  which  the  warp,  instead  of  being  run  together 
in  splitfuls,  each  thread  is  made  to  stand  out  equally  dis- 
tant from  each  other  in  the  cloth.  In  some  fabrics,  this 
gives  a much  better  an  more  filled-up-like  appearance  than 
it  otherwise  would  have,  even  when  less  warp  yarn  is  em- 
ployed. Indeed,  this  method  of  weaving  converts  what  in 
some  cases  would  be  but  a mere  rag,  into  excellent  cloth. 

We  are  aware  that  this  sort  of  weaving  in  some  parts 
of  the  country  is  almost  unknown.  There  are  also  those 
who  object  to  it  on  the  ground  that  it  throws  too  much 
strain  on  the  yarn,  but  we  will  endeavour  to  show  that 
for  the  most  part  this  extra  strain  is  caused  by  imperfect 
methods  being  employed.  There  are  others  who  would 
gladly  take  advantage  of  it  if  they  knew  how  it  was  done 
and  how  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  that  crop  up  when 
they  try  it,  while  there  are  large  numbers  who  practice 
it  with  the  best  results. 


80 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


The  spreading  of  the  warp  threads  in  the  cloth,  then, 
is  produced  simply  by  weaving  with  the  two  halves  of 
the  shed,  held  at  an  unequal  tension.  It  is  most  conve- 
nient that  the  lower  half  be  tight  and  the  upper  half  a 
little  loose.  This  is  accomplished  by  lowering  the  warp 
lines  a little  at  the  heddles.  Let  us  suppose  Fig.  1 to  rep- 
resent the  shed,  and  we  will  see  at  once  what  takes  place. 

Fig.  1. 


The  dotted  line  A B is  the  warp  line,  and  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  upper  part  of  the  shed  has  risen  as  far  from  the 
centre  C as  the  other  part  has  sunk;  but  if  we  measure 
the  distance  D E F,  and  the  distance  DIF,  we  will  find 
that  the  latter  is  considerably  longer  than  the  former, 
and,  consequently,  that  part  D H F will  be  held  tight 
while  D E F will  remain  loose.  This  is  what  must  take 
place  before  the  warp  threads  are  spread,  and  a beautiful 
texture  produced;  but  there  are  other  things  that  may 
occur  to  mar  the  whole  eft'ect  of  this,  which  we  will 
require  to  notice. 

The  method  of  shedding  in  this  sort  of  weaving  differs 
so  much  from  that  of  any  other  that  we  deemed  it  neces- 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


81 


sary  to  introduce  Fig.  2 to  bring  out  the  whole  system  as 
clear  as  possible.  Then  suppose  the  dotted  circle  to  rep- 
resent the  circle  of  the  crank,  and  point  1 to  be  its 
position  when  the  reed  is  at  the  fell  of  the  cloth. 

Fig.  2. 


If  we  divide  the  circle  into  twelve  equal  parts,  and  it  is 
revolving  in  the  direction  of  the  arrow,  the  shuttle  will 
begin  to  move  at  point  4,  and  enter  the  shed  at  point  5, 
and  leave  it  again  at  point  9.  Now  where  the  warp  does 
not  require  to  be  spread,  Ihe  shed  only  requires  to  be  open 
from  point  5 to  9,  or  % of  the  crank’s  revolution.  But 
when  spreading  the  warp,  the  shed  has  to  be  full  open  at 
point  1,  and  of  course  remain  open  till  it  reaches  point  9. 
The  reason  of  this  will  be  quite  obvious  if  we  consider 
that  the  cloth  is  formed  when  the  shot  is  beaten  up,  and 


82 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


the  threads  must  he  held  in  the  position  we  have  already 
described  in  order  that  they  may  take  their  proper  place 
at  that  time ; in  fact,  the  opening  of  the  shed  requires  to 
tie  adjusted  with  mathematical  precision  to  the  beating  of 
the  shot.  Too  late,  and  it  is  seen  in  the  cloth — too  soon, 
and  it  has  a detrimental  effect  on  the  yarn. 

We  have  seen  this  description  of  cloth  frequently  spoil- 
ed by  an  imperfect  construction  of  the  shedding  wiper  or 
tappet.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  subject  will 
be  aware  that  the  ordinary  rule  for  the  construction  of 
cams,  etc.,  is  not  altogether  suitable  for  shedding  wipers. 
This  is  owing  to  the  treadles  moving  in  a circle  instead  of 
a straight  line  at  their  point  of  contact  with  the  wipers. 
They  are  frequently  made,  however,  to  that  rule,  and  the 
consequence  is  that  when  the  sheds  are  opening  and  clos- 
ing, the  leaves  of  the  cam  are  quite  tight ; but  when  the 
shed  is  full  open  the  treadle  does  not  come  quite  up  to 
the  wiper,  as  indicated  at  point  A,  Fig.  3.  This  want 
Fig.  3. 


requires  to  be  made  up  on  the  wiper.  When  this  is  not  done 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


83 


the  treadle  springs  up,  and  the  leaf  of  the  cam  goes  up 
with  it  and  draws  the  upper  part  of  the  shed  tight,  which 
requires  to  be  held  a little  loose,  and,  as  a matter  of 
course,  makes  “reed  marked  cloth.'’ 

There  is  another  thing  that  affects  the  spreading  of  the 
warp  in  a very  marked  degree,  but  from  its  very  simplic- 
ity is  frequently  overlooked.  That  is  the  position  of  the 
lease  rods  in  the  yarn — their  distance  back  from  the  cam. 
A little  observation  will  explain  this  more  clearly  than 
any  language  we  could  employ.  Change  their  position 
nearer  and  further  back  from  the  cam,  and  mark  the  effect 
on  the  cloth.  It  will  soon  make  itself  visible,  and  by  this 
means  their  proper  position  can  easily  be  ascertained. 

We  are  now  in  a position  to  consider  how  all  this 
affects  the  strain  on  the  yarn.  First  of  all  there  is  the 
sinking  of  the  warp  line,  which  adds  to  the  strain  in  so 
far  as  it  increases  the  angle  of  the  shed ; but  if  every- 
thing else  is  right  it  requires  to  be  sunk  so  little  that  it 
cannot  make  any  appreciable  difference.  There  is  a very 
bad  practice  however  prevails  in  some  places  of  raising 
the  back  beam  alone  to  produce  this  result.  This  throws 
all  the  strain  on  that  part  of  the  thread  between  the  cam 
and  the  lease  rods.  It  will  be  quite  obvious  that  this  is 
detrimental  to  the  yarn,  and  ought  to  be  avoided. 

Then  there  is  the  great  length  of  pause  necessary  in 
this  sort  of  shedding  which  causes  the  change  to  take 
place  more  suddenly.  But  the  bad  effect  of  this  can  be 
entirely  obviated  by  giving  to  the  heddle  leaves  an  eccen- 
tric movement,  fastest  in  the  centre  of  the  stroke,  and  get- 


84 


THE  LOOM-FIXEKS'  MANUAL. 


ting  gradually  slower  until  it  merges  into  the  full  pause. 

The  only  difficulty  there  is  to  contend  with  in  regard  to 
this  is  the  full  weight  of  the  thread  being  on  the  yarn 
during  the  time  the.  shot  is  being  beaten  up.  But  a little 
experience  will  teach  the  operator  how  to  adjust  the  open- 
ing of  the  shed  to  the  beating  up  of  the  shot,  so  that  they 
both  may  occur  almost  simultaneously,  the  shed  just  the 
least  shade  behind.  When  this  is  accomplished  there  will 
only  be  a few  threads  at  the  selvage  subject  to  any  extra 
strain.  This  is  caused  by  the  shrinkage  which  takes  place 
in  the  cloth,  dining  the  process  of  weaving.  The  cloth 
is  always  a little  narrower  than  it  is  in  the  reed;  conse- 
quently when  the  reed  comes  forward  to  beat  up  the  shot 
with  the  full  weight  of  the  tread  on  the  yarn, those  threads 
near  the  selvage  will  be  strained  in  propoition  as  the  cloth 
has  shrunk.  The  only  remedy  is  to  make  the  selvage 
threads  strong  enough  or  elastic  enough  to  sustain  it. 

Many  fabrics,  both  of  cotton,  woolen,  linen,  and  jute 
are  made  in  the  manner  described;  and,  moreover,  there 
are  many  other  fabrics  that  would  be  greatly  improved 
if  the  same  process  were  adopted  with  them. 

For  all  practical  purposes  at  present,  we  may  divide  all 
descriptions  of  weaving  into  three  classes.  There  is  what 
is  commonly  called  open  cloth,  that  is.  where  the  threads 
are  run  together  in  splitfuls,  and  a vacancy  left  between 
them.  This  is  done  to  show  the  colors  of  the  weft.  The 
writer  once  saw  a fine  example  of  this  class  of  weaving 
in  a large  diamond  pattern.  The  warp  was  wholly  com- 
posed of  a bright  scarlet,  and  the  weft  of  a dark  brown 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


85 


color.  It  formed  diamonds  within  diamonds,  t lie  one 
scarlet,  and  the  other  brown,  until  they  reached  a point 
in  the  centre.  Of  course,  all  that  is  required  with  this, 
so  far  as  our  present  purpose  is  concerned,  is  to  see  that 
both  parts  of  the  shed  are  held  at  an  equal  tension,  and 
the  reed  will  do  the  rest.  Then  there  is  that  class  we  have 
just  been  considering-,  where  it  is  not  necessary  to  show 
the  weft,  but  that  the  cloth  must  have  as  thick  and  “fill- 
ed up-like,”  appearance  as  possible.  Now,  if  we  take  an 
ordinary  plain  web,  for  example  (of  any  fibre),  with  two 
threads  in  the  split,  if  the  warp  threads  are  well  spread 
the  cloth  will  present  exactly  the  same  appearance  as  if 
it  had  been  wrought  in  a reed  of  tw’ice  the  count,  with 
one  thread  in  the  split.  It  will  now  be  easily  enough  un- 
derstood, I think,  what  descriptions  of  cloth  are  best  suit- 
ed to  this.  Then  there  is  the  third  class,  to  which  I 
referred;  it  is  a matter  of  indifference  whether  it  is 
wrought  the  one  way  or  the  other.  This  is  generally  the 
heaviest  fabric,  where  the  threads  both  of  the  warp  and 
weft  are  packed  so  closely  together  that  neither  process 
will  tell  on  it. 

We  now  come  to  a point  of  more  importance  to  weav- 
ers in  general — treading  the  shot.  The  reader  may  not 
be  fully  aware  of  what  “treading  the  shot”  means,  I will 
explain  it  with  reference  to  Fig.  2.  Instead  of  having 
the  shed  full  open  at  point  1,  as  here  indicated,  it  is  open 
a considerable  time  before  the  crank  reaches  that  point; 
consequently  the  full  weight  of  the  tread  is  on  the  shot, 
while  the  reed  is  perhaps  two  or  three  inches  from  the 


86 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


fell  of  the  cloth ; and  the  weft  thread  is  dragged  through 
the  warp  to  its  place  in  the  web.  The  consequences  of 
this  to  the  yarn  are  so  apparent  that  it  will  be  understood 
by  a mere  tyro  in  weaving.  But  had  there  been  any  com- 
pensating advantages  in  an  improved  fabric  of  cloth,  the 
mischief  thus  done  the  yarn  might  have  been  over-bal- 
anced ; but  there  is  absolutely  none.  As  has  already  been 
pointed  out,  that  to  spread  the  warp  threads  each  alter- 
nate one  should  be  a little  loose;  now  all  that  is  required 
in  the  shedding  is  to  hold  them  in  that  position  just  at 
the  instant  the  shot  is  being  beat  up.  This  can  be  accom- 
plished with  the  shedding  and  felling  oceuring  simulta- 
neously. It  may  be  observed  by  any  who  may  care  to 
examine  it,  that  when  the  crank  is  forward  with  the  lay, 
it  moves  round  a little,  and  consequently  takes  the  wiper- 
shaft  with  it,  during  which  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  the 
reed  stands  still.  Some  take  the  advantage  of  this  to  save 
the  yarn  as  much  as  possible,  by  keeping  the  shed  a little 
behind;  but  as  this  is  but  a small  matter  it  need  not  be 
insisted  on. 

We  have  frequently  come  in  contact  with  those  who  in- 
sist that  the  style  of  shedding  we  have  just  described  is 
what  is  commonly  termed  “treading  the  shot,"  and  con- 
demn it  accordingly.  But  it  will  be  found  that  none  of 
the  evils  attendant  on  the  latter,  accompanies  it.  And 
perhaps  this  opportunity  that  has  been  afforded  of  show- 
ing the  difference,  may  lead  some  to  adopt  it  with  profit 
who  have  hitherto  rejected  it. 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


87 


CHAPTER  III. 

PRACTICAL  HINTS  ON  WEAVING — THE  MANAGEMENT  OF 
A WEAVING  ROOM — SOME  OF  THE  ELEMENTS  OF  SUC- 
CESS IN  WEAVING — NEW  NOTIONS  AN1)  OLD  LOOMS — 
WHAT  CONSTITUTES  A “GOOD  FIXER."’ 

A loom  should  be  kept  well  oiled. 

Heddles  should  be  kept  straight. 

Loom  belts  should  not  be  kept  too  tight. 

Shuttles  should  be  kept  very  smooth. 

Hard  twisted  tilling  should  be  steamed. 

Every  weaver  should  understand  drawing  in. 
Harnesses  should  be  hooked  with  uniform  tension. 
Cloth  and  warp  beams  should  be  perfectly  straight. 
•Weavers  should  be  made  to  share  the  responsibility  of 
the  work. 

Side  weights  are  better  than  temples  for  most  kinds  of 
work. 

The  more  a loom  is  kept  running  the  more  even  the 
cloth  will  weave. 

Hoop  iron  faced  with  leather  makes  the  best  friction 
for  heavy  work. 

Harnesses  should  be  kept  well  cleaned  and  oiled,  and 
not  allowed  to  chafe. 


88 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MAXUAL. 


Spoolers  should  not  be  allowed  to  learn  to  tie  any  other 
than  a square  knot. 

A warp  will  weave  with  much  less  strain  in  an  open 
shed,  than  in  a close  shed  loom. 

No  heavier  weight  than  is  actually  necessary  should  be 
used  on  a conditional  “take-up.” 

Cotton  rope  for  friction,  with  very  little  weight  on  the 
“take-up,”  will  make  even  cloth  on  light  weight  goods. 

Nothing  is  gained,  but  great  losses  is  generally  the  re- 
sult of  speeding  looms  higher  than  they  should  run. 

A little  brush  made  of  waste,  tacked  on  the  lay  near 
the  shuttle  box,  is  better  to  prevent  filling  drawing  in  on 
the  side  of  the  cloth,  than  friction  on  the  filling. 

The  shed  should  only  be  just  deep  enough  to  admit  the 
shuttle  in  its  passage  without  chafing  the  warp. 

Reeds  should  be  well  cleaned  before  warps  are  drawn 
through  them. 

A good  selvage  not  only  improves  the  general  appear- 
ance of  a piece  of  cloth,  but  is  of  great  advantage  in  the 
weaving. 

Fining  weavers  for  bad  work  is  not  the  best  method  to 
adopt.  Cloth  can  be  made  perfect,  and  weavers  receive 
the  full  pay  for  weaving.  Persons  of  vicious,  slovernly, 
and  immoral  habits  have  been  the  cause  of  such  rules 
being  made;  while  good  weavers,  by  accident,  have  suf- 
fered by  it.  Hence,  the  penalty  of  fines  should  not  . be 
applied  indiscriminately. 

THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  A WEAVING  ROOM. 

That  the  success  of  a mill  depends  upon  competent 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


89 


overseers,  no  one  has  ever  denied.  It  would  be  useless 
for  a designer  to  toil  early  and  late  unless  men  of  ability 
stood  ready  to  carry  his  designs  into  execution.  The  posi- 
tion of  overseer,  however,  in  any  department  of  a mill  is 
not  an  enviable  one  by  any  means.  To  those  who  do  not 
understand  the  cares  and  responsibilities,  the  perplexities 
and  annoyances  to  which  an  overseer  is  subject,  the  posi- 
tion may  seem  a very  desirable  one;  and  many  young 
men  look  forward  with  high  hopes  to  the  time  when  they 
can  take  charge  of  the  department  in  which  they  are  em- 
ployed. 

This  is  commendable,  and  we  would  not  discourage 
any  who  are  striving  by  merit  to  gain  position;  for  merit 
deserves  its  reward;  but  how  few  there  are  who  have 
any  conception  of  the  great  weight  of  responsibility  that 
must  rest  upon  them  after  they  have  stepped  into  the  po- 
sition of  overseer. 

They  may  think  they  understand  the  work  very  well ; 
they  may  flatter  themselves  that  no  obstacle  can  come  in 
their  way  which  they  cannot  easily  surmount;  but  years 
of  experience  will  teach  them  that  overseers  are  doomed 
to  meet  obstacles  and  difficulties  all  the  way  long. 

An  overseer  of  a weaving  room  is  doubtless  subject  to 
his  share  of  troubles,  and  finds  himself  as  often  in  places 
where  brains  must  be  brought  into  requisition  as  any  one 
about  the  mill.  There  are  so  many  wrongs  to  be  righted, 
and  so  many  avenues  of  escape  for  those  who  have  com- 
mitted the  wrongs,  that  he  finds  himself  continually  in 


90 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


search  of  causes,  but  finally  has  to  shoulder  the  responsi- 
bility, and  face  the  result. 

He  learns  that  a weaving  room  will  not  manage  itself, 
but  that  he  must  constantly  be  on  the  alert.  The  old 
saying,  that  “an  ounce  of  preventative  is  worth  a pound 
of  cure,”  is  of  great  import  to  the  weaver.  The  power 
of  applying  attention,  steady  and  undissipated,  is  some- 
thing which  will  greatly  aid  a man  in  his  work.  Noth- 
ing should  escape  his  notice. 

It  is  not  only  necessary  to  understand  weaving,  and  to 
have  good  ideas  of  dynamical  forces,  but  a knowledge  of 
human  nature  is  equally  essential. 

Humanity  differs  so  widely  in  its  traits  of  character 
that  it  is  very  important  for  one  who  is  to  take  charge  of 
a lot  of  help  to  understand  something  of  human  nature. 
An  overseer  who  is  ignorant  in  this  respect  may  make  a 
great  many  mistakes  which  will  cause  him  much  trouble 
and  anxiety.  He  may  speak  in  sharp  tones  of  reproof  to 
a weaver  who  has  committed  some  wrong,  either  care- 
lessly or  ignorantly,  and  a spirit  of  retaliation  will  take 
possession  of  her  and  manifest  itself  on  every  convenient 
occasion,  proving  a source  of  continual  annoyance. 
Whereas,  if  spoken  to  kindly,  she  would  have  seen  her 
wrong,  and  ever  after  avoided  any  thing  of  the  kind. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  some  weavers  so  consti- 
tuted that  kind  words  are  of  no  avail,  ami  more  stringent 
measures  have  to  be  adopted. 

A supercilious  overseer  can  so  disgust  his  weavers  that 
they  will  avail  themselves  of  every  opportunity  to  make 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


91 


his  administration  a failure;  and  every  effort  on  his  part 
to  ascertain  the  cause  of  bad  work  will  be  thwarted  by 
their  adroitness,  aided,  of  course,  by  sympathetic  loom- 
fixers.  It  is  useless  for  one  to  think  of  success  with  a 
class  of  help  who  care  nothing  for  his  interest,  or  the  in- 
terest of  the  concern.  The  sooner  such  help  are  disposed 
of  the  better  it  will  be  for  overseers  and  owners. 

It  is  a lamentable,  fact  that  there  are  a great  many 
young  men  who  are  so  unsettled  in  their  purpose  as  to 
go  from  place  to  place  importuning . overseers  to  give 
them  work  at  weaving,  and  after  having  secured  work, 
remaining  only  long  enough  to  earn  a few  dollars  and 
then  away  to  some  other  place.  Overseers,  however,  are 
learning  that  this  class  of  help  are  not  profitable;  and 
managers  of  mills  are  learning  that  it  is  for  their  interest 
to  pay  sufficient  wages  to  keep  the  best  of  help;  so  that 
in  the  future,  that  large  class  who  depend  upon  factories 
for  a living,  will  learn  the  all  important  lesson  that  it  is 
the  meritorious  who  are  employed. 

As  competition  in  the  markets  have  driven  manufactur- 
ers to  that  place  where  nothing  short  of  the  best  work 
will  answer  the  demands,  it  has  necessitated  greater  care 
and  vigilence  on  the  part  of  overseers;  and,  in  fact,  the 
continual  changes  going  on  brings  more  labor,  and  a de- 
mand for  greater  skill.  Hence  we  see  that  nothing  short 
of  practical  talent,  backed  by  a powerful  executive  abil- 
ity, will  answer  as  characteristics  in  the  man  who  is  to 
successfully  manage  a weaving  room  in  a mill  which  is 
supplying  the  wants  of  a fastidious  people. 


92 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


SOME  OF  THE  ELEMENTS  OF  SUCCESS  IN  WEAVING. 

In  writing  on  this  important  subject,  I am  impressed 
with  the  thought  that  one  page  of  practical  reading  is 
worth  more  than  volumes  of  theoretical  teachings  to  one 
who  is  desirous  of  fitting  himself  for  a lucrative  position 
in  manufacturing. 

Recognizing  this  fact,  I shall  endeavor  to  be  practical ; 
yet,  as  I search  among  the  cobwebs  and  dust  of  past  ex- 
perience, for  something  which  may  serve  as  a stepping 
stone  for  others  to  higher  attainments,  I am  forcibly  re- 
minded of  wrongs  and  inconsistencies  which  I have  wit- 
nessed emanating  from  administrative  powers,  and  in 
view  of  these  facts,  I shall  underlie  the  whole  with  phil- 
anthropic principles. 

The  man  who  enters  a mill  and  accepts  the  position  of 
weaver,  must  assume  the  responsibilities  connected  there- 
with, and  his  success  only  depends  upon  his  abilities  to 
perform  the  duties  of  his  office.  The  several  elements  of 
which  this  ability  consists  has  afforded  thought  for  seri- 
ous consideration  among  weavers  of  experience.  It  is 
too  often  the  case  that  serious  thoughts  can  only  be  ar- 
roused  by  serious  failures:  but  if  the  thoughts  could  be 
awakened  at  the  beginning,  the  failures  might  be  un- 
known. If,  by  the  few  ideas  presented  in  this  chapter,  a 
train  of  thought  may  be  awakened  in  the  mind  of  some 
one  just  entering  upon  an  experience  through  which  the 
writer  has  passed,  I shall  have  accomplished  my  purpose, 
trusting  the  result  may  be  beneficial.  A thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  mechanism  of  looms  is  not  all  that  is  requir- 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


93 


ed  of  a weaver.  To  understand  the  effect  of  colors,  the 
different  weaves  and  combinations,  and  the  relative 
strength  and  size  of  yarns,  are  some  of  the  qualifications, 
but  certainly  not  all. 

* * * The  results  always  looked  for  from  the  weaving 
room,  is  perfect  cloth,  and  as  much  of  it,  of  course,  as 
facilities  allow.  To  managers  and  others,  who  occasion- 
ally pass  in  and  out,  and  always  hear  the  click-clack  of 
looms,  this  may  seem  an  easy  matter  to  accomplish ; but 
to  the  weaver  who  takes  pride  in  his  work,  and  is  anxious 
for  the  best  results,  there  is  something  formidable  in  the 
array  of  work  before  him.  His  first  thoughts  are  of  his 
help.  If  they  are  intelligent,  and  in  some  degree  consci- 
entious, he  knows  there  will  be  but  little  trouble,  com- 
paratively, in  turning  off  good  work. 

Overseers  in  all  departments  know  that  trouble  among 
help,  or  caused  by  help,  almost  invariably  originate 
among  that  class  who  are  so  ignorant  as  to  entertain  no 
higher  ideas  of  manufacturing,  than  was  expressed  by 
one  during  a strike  some  years  ago : “that  capitalists 
build  mills  to  crowd  down  the  poor!”  A weaver  stands 
between  his  help  and  the  owners.  On  the  one  hand  if  he 
is  detected  in  sympathy  with  any  movement  to  reduce 
wages,  or  enforce  too  stringent  laws,  he  must  expect 
curses,  and  worse  than  that ; manifestations  of  vindictive 
spirits  which  may  work  injury,  not  only  to  himself,  but 
to  the  owners.  On  the  other  hand,  if  he  is  known  to  be 
in  league  with  rebellious  or  “striking”  help  he  might  as 
well  make  up  his  mind  to  vacate  his  position  at  once. 


94 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


Therefore,  in  all  matters  of  these  kinds,  there  seems  to  be 
but  one  way,  which  is  to  be  governed  by  a high  sense  of 
duty  to  both  and  justice  to  all. 

There  has  always  existed  in  the  minds  of  nearly  all 
classes  of  help  mistaken  ideas  regarding  the  rules  and 
regulations  which  are  laid  down  for  mill  government. 
Because  certain  requirements  are  made  in  one  direction, 
and  certain  restrictions  laid  down  in  another,  it  is  no  rea- 
son why  help  should  think  an  injustice  had  been  done 
them.  Let  them  take  more  sensible  views  of  the  matter. 
What  would  States,  committees,  societies,  or  families  be 
without  their  laws,  rules  and  regulations? 

In  the  lirst  place,  it  is  left  optional  with  people  whether 
they  accept  work  in  a mill  or  not;  but  if  necessity  com- 
pels them  to  work,  let  them  accept  the  conditions  upon 
which  work  is  given,  with  the  assurance  that  rules  are 
only  made  for  the  unruly. 

But  allowing  a weaver  to  be  fortunate  in  having  an  in- 
telligent class  of  help,  there  still  remains  a watchfulness 
and  care  to  be  exercised  on  his  part,  aside  from  his  own 
personal  experience  and  knowledge  of  weaving  which 
must  continuall}'  be  brought  into  requisition.  One  old 
manufacturer  who  has  had  a practical  experience  in  all 
departments  of  a woolen  mill,  says  that  “it  requires  three 
score  and  ten  years  for  the  most  intelligent  man  to  be- 
come thoroughly  practical  in  any  one  department. 
Whether  this  be  true  or  not  regarding  other  rooms,  I 
should  coincide  with  him  so  far  as  the  weaving  depart- 
ment is  concerned. 


THE  LOOM-FIXEKS’  MANUAL. 


95 


After  a man  has  spent  one  score  of  years  in  a weaving- 
room,  and  thinks  he  has  been  dillig-ent  in  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  its  workings,  he  still  finds  his  mind  exer- 
cised in  solving  a multiplicity  of  new  problems.  Practi- 
cal experience,  then,  is  not  to  be  regarded  only  as  an 
essential,  but  an  indispensible  element  in  the  way  of  suc- 
cess. A persistency  in  righting  wrongs,  and  overcoming- 
difficulties  is  to  be  commended;  but  the  ability  to  foresee, 
and  to  prevent  is  more  preferable.  When  once  the  servi- 
ces of  an  incompetent  fixer  has  been  secured,  it  is  better 
to  dispense  with  him  as  soon  as  the  fact  is  learned  than  to 
wait  until  bad  cloth  is  made  as  the  result  of  bad  fixing. 

It  is  surprising  to  know  the  power  for  good  or  bad  af- 
fect a weaver' may  exercise  simply  by  the  habit  which 
lie  has  cultivated.  If  he  is  slothful  or  negligent  about 
his  room,  his  help  are  not  slow  to  note  this  element  in  his 
character  and  to  be  governed  by  the  same  principles 
about  their  work.  If  he  manifests  a carefulness  and  con- 
cern about  the  work,  he  may  almost  rest  assured  that  his 
help  will  follow  his  example.  He  may  also  rest  assured 
that  gruffness,  peevishness,  oaths  or  inconsistances  on 
his  part  will  not  be  conducive  to  his  own  interest.  Rebel- 
liousness is  a part  and  parcel  of  every  one's  nature,  and 
to  rebel  at  ill  treatment  is  quite  natural  as  he  himself  can 
testify  when  in  times  past  his  superiors  have  attempted 
to  enforce  obedience  or  offered  rebukes  in  a gruff  manner 
or  accompanied  by  oaths ; and  a man  of  good  sense  can- 
not expect  his  help  to  bear  more  than  he  can  bear  himself. 
Kindness  is  more  effective  than  harsh  treatment,  and 


96 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


while  it  may  be  necessary  to  employ  the  latter  uuder  cer- 
tain circumstances,  the  former  should  be  the  rule  and 
guide  of  a weavers’  conduct  towards  his  help. 

NEW  NOTIONS  AND  OLD  LOOMS. 

* * * It  is  to  be  hoped  that  inventive  genius  supple- 
mented with  ambition  will  not  over-reach  itself  amorig 
loom-builders  of  the  present  day,  as  it  seems  likely  to  do 
and  fill  the  mad  houses  with  poor  unfortunates  who  have 
started  out  with  bright  hopes  on  a loom-fixer’s  career. 

Inventive  genius  has  indeed  made  many  grand  achieve- 
ments and  placed  before  an  admiring  world  the  beauty  of 
her  labors;  but  there  are  very  many  inventions  of  a few 
years  ago  that  practical  men  are  unwilling  to  lay  aside 
for  some  of  the  “new  fangled  notions,”  which  seems  to 
have  sprang  into  existance  more  from  pecuniary  motives 
on  the  part  of  inventors  than  from  any  practical  use  they 
might  ever  be  to  manufacturers — were  it  possible  to  se- 
lect the  very  best — the  parts  which  have  been  often  tried 
and  never  denied,  from  among  the  many  inventions  and 
from  these  to  compile  a loom,  it  would  seem  that  perfec- 
tion might  be  attained.  The  simplest  is  always  the  best. 
Every  addition  made  to  a loom  only  adds  perplexity  and 
labor,  until  fixers  have  become  acquainted  with  it  and 
usage  has  discovered  its  weak  points : and  these  must  be 
pointed  out  to  builders  with  suggested  improvements; 
and  while  the  buyers  of  the  next  make  will  receive  the 
benefits,  the  former  must  go  on  crippled. 

It  is  a hard  matter  to  draw  comparisons  between  the 
different  make  of  looms  and  point  out  the  decided  advan- 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


97 


tages  one  has  over  the  other,  for  there  is  no  make  but  has 
some  good  qualities,  and  there  is  certainly  none  but  has 
many  deficiencies.  However  good  the  late  improvements 
on  the  Knowles  and  Crompton  looms  may  be  pronounced, 
every  loom-fixer,  who  has  had  experience  on  them,  knows 
perfection  has  not  been  reached  and  old  fixers  can  see 
where  many  parts  are  not  quite  as  good  as  some  parts  in 
the  old  patterns.  Most  any  fixer  of  experience  will  agree 
with  the  statement  that  no  harness  motion  has  ever  yet 
been  invented,  for  simplicity  and  easy  management,  that 
can  surpass  the  shear  motion  patented  by  Gilbert  in  1S68. 

AVhen  old  fixers  look  back  over  a space  of  twenty  years 
and  see  the  long  line  of  different  looms  with  which  they 
have  struggled,  often  times  in  doubt  as  to  which  would 
come  off  conquerer,  loom  or  fixer,  they  do  not  fail  to 
recognize  among  that  formidable  array  the  loom  which 
was  the  most  easily  managed ; and  it  is  quite  natural  for 
one  to  speak  of  that  loom  as  the  best.  Among  such  rem- 
iniscences a fixer's  brow  will  darken  as  he  thinks  of  the 
harness  chain  on  the  old  Greenhalge  loom  with  its  wood- 
en pegs;  and  the  sheet  iron  shuttle  binders  with  the  pro- 
tecting rod  fingers  at  the  outer  end  of  the  box ; and  when 
he  thinks  of  hours  spent  in  driving  pegs  and  “tinkering” 
on  binders,  it  seems  like  wasted  time,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  long  string  of  oaths  that  have  gone  clattering  away 
with  the  wooden  pegs. 

Fixers  also  remember  a certain  pattern  of  cam  loom 
sent  out  by  Davis  & Furber,  about  sixteen  years  ago 
with  the  dagger  on  the  protecting  rod  in  the  centre  of  the 


98 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


lay,  which  acted  as  sort  of  a pivot  on  which  the  lay  could 
swing,  and  twist  itself  all  out  of  shape  whenever  the 
shuttle  failed  to  reach  the  box  at  such  times  as  the  “knock 
off"  did  not  work.  This  was  considered  by  many  fixers 
as  the  greatest  nuisance  extant  and  heartily  corroborated 
by  all  others.  But  the  many  improvements  afterwards 
added  have  placed  them  among  the  best  cam  looms  in 
the  country. 

One  very  bad  feature  of  the  late  patterns  of  the  Cromp- 
ton harness  motion,  is  in  having  the  chain  run  backward, 
or  at  least  what -would  seem  backward  to  one  who  has 
been  used  to  fixing  on  other  looms.  And  being  under- 
neath the  fingers  as  it  is,  one  person  finds  it  quite  a diffi- 
cult task  to  put  a long  chain  on,  being  obliged  to  hold  its 
entire  weight  in  one  hand  while  the  other  has  to  be  used 
in  working  the  cylinder.  On  the  old  “pump  motion" 
this  trouble  is  obviated  by  hanging  one  end  of  the  chain 
on  the  cylinder  with  both  hands,  after  which  it  can  be 
easily  worked.  Another  advantage  the  old  “pump  mo- 
tion" has,  as  has  also  the  Gilbert  “shear  motion,"  over 
the  newer  styles,  the  cause  of  harness  miss-picks  can  be 
more  readily  detected ; for  the  simple  reason  that  the 
jacks  stand  out  where  their  workings  with  the  chain  can 
be  easily  seen. 

There  has  doubtless  been  more  brain-racking,  neck- 
twisting  work,  in  trying  to  study  out  and  peep  into  the 
cause  of  harness  miss-picks  than  in  any  other  one  trouble 
about  a loom.  There  have  been  many  “new  notions'5 
regarding  frictions  and  “let  offs"  for  woolen  weaving, 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


99 


but  for  all  kinds  of  work  nothing  as  yet  seems  to  take 
the  place  of  the  weight  and  lever  friction,  (unless  it  be 
the  very  latest  improvement  on  the  Crompton  loom  which 
remains  to  be  decided).  Unevenness  in  weaving  seems 
to  have  been  one  of  the  motives  which  prompted  men  to 
devise  something  new;  and  a friction  with  connected 
levers  and  pad  which  rested  on  the  warp  was  the  result 
of  much  study.  This  was  claimed  to  be  a friction,  which 
if  adjusted  to  the  right  number  of  picks  at  the  commence- 
ment of  a warp,  would  keep  the  uniform  number  through- 
out, without  changing,  until  the  warp  beam  became  bare. 
It  was  also  claimed  that  a weaver  could  not  change  the 
friction  in  order  to  put  in  a less  number  of  picks,  but  it 
failed  in  both  cases  to  perform  what  was  claimed  for  it. 
It  would  not  keep  in  a uniform  number  of  picks  through- 
out an  entire  warp,  but  invariably  has  to  be  changed.  It 
is  also  cpiite  as  easily  changed  by  a weaver,  who  feels 
disposed  to  weave  light  cloth,  as  is  the  old  weight  and 
lever.  It  cannot  be  expected,  however,  that  the  many  so 
called  improvements  on  looms  will  meet  with  decided 
favor  by  old  fixers,  but  as  the  weight  of  years  compels 
them  to  lay  aside  the  monkey-wrench  and  screw-driver, 
and  give  place  to  the  younger  ones  who  can  more  readily 
adapt  themselves  to  the  “new  fangled  notions,"  inventors 
will  not  find  it  so  difficult  to  please. 

WHAT  CONSTITUTES  A “GOOD  FIXER?” 

It  is  not  in  the  fact  that  a man  has  seen,  and  handled, 
and  perhaps  had  a little  experience  in  fixing  nearly  all 
kinds  of  looms. 


100 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS’  MANUAL. 


1 have  seen  a inan  who  could  talk  very  well  concerning 
the  different  make  of  looms,  and  as  he  expatiated  on  the 
good  qualities  of  this,  and  condemned  that,  and  related 
marvelous  things  about  the  workings  of  another,  I re- 
garded him  as  a wonderfully  learned  man  among  the  craft. 
But  I saw  that  man  placed  in  a position  where  practical 
knowledge  only,  could  avail,  and  lo,  he  was  a begger. 

Now  a good  loom-fixer  will  be  a pretty  good  man  in 
other  ways ; for  the  two  essential  elements,  good  judg- 
ment, and  good  sense,  which  he  must  possess,  will  ac- 
complish more  for  him  than  to  make  him  a good  fixer, 
and  without  these  he  never  will  be  much  of  anything. 

If  one  were  to  listen  to  the  different  opinions  expressed 
by  weavers,  regarding  a fixer,  it  would  be  a hard  matter 
to  form  an  estimate  of  his  abilities.  It  is  not  the  man 
who  can  curse  and  swear  the  loudest  at  his  weavers,  nor 
the  one  who  can  joke  and  tell  stories  the  longest,  that  is 
the  best  fixer;  although  a good  fixer  may  possess  the 
qualifications  for  doing  either  to  a very  limited  extent.  If 
a loom  has  been  running  nicely  for  several  days,  or  sev- 
enth weeks,  and  till  at  once  begins  throwing  the  shuttle 
out,  or  stopping,  or  going  wrong  in  any  way,  it  is  but  a 
reasonable  conclusion  to  arrive  at,  that  something  is 
wrong  about  the  loom,  and  the  man  who  can  go  and  read- 
ily right  that  wrong,  without  making  the  loom  go  a great 
deal  worse  before  making  it  go  better,  is  a man  of  good 
judgment,  and  doubtless  a good  fixer.  Some  men  go  to 
work  on  a loom  as  though  it  was  all  wrong  from  the 
picking  dog  to  the  head  motion  ; just  because  it  has  stop- 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


101 


ped  several  times.  Now  when  a loom  begins  to  stop,  it  is 
useless  to  take  the  harness  chain  off  to  see  if  any  of  the 
bars  are  crooked.  The  man  of  good  judgment  will  not 
move  a bolt,  or  screw  until  he  lias  satisfied  himself  where 
the  trouble  is,  and  then  he  quitely  removes  the  cause  of 
the  trouble,  and  the  loom  runs  along  as  though  nothing 
had  occurred ; while  the  impetuous  man  who  would  begin 
at  once  moving  the  picking  shoe  forward,  letting  the  tug- 
strap  down,  and  taking  an  inch  or  two  out  of  the  belt, 
when  he  discovered  the  real  cause  of  the  trouble  must  go 
and  undo  all  that  he  has  done,  and  by  the  time  he  is 
through  he  finds  the  loom  does'nt  run  as  well  as  it  did 
before  ; and  no  wonder. 

I have  known  men  who  were  good  fixers  in  all  respects 
save  one.  Their  looms  were  in  good  condition  and  run- 
ning well.  They  knew  when  a loom  ought  to  be  fixed 
and  how.  They  were  pleasant  with  the  help.  But  a lack 
of  something , which  can  come  under  no  other  head  than 
neatness,  was  plainly  visible.  This  may  not  be  consid- 
ered as  essential  in  the  qualifications  for  a fixer;  but  it 
covers  a large  ground.  It  means  more  than  cleanliness. 
For  instance,  in  passing  along  a section  of  looms  which 
is  being  run  by  such  men,  I have  noticed  that  the  har- 
nesses were  not  hung  exactly  even,  and  that  where  the 
middle  hooks  were,  more  warp  would  be  on  one  side  than 
the  other ; and  a picker  stick  would  be  several  inches  too 
long,  running  up  past  the  shuttle  box  like  a flag  staff, 
straps  would  be  left  with  flapping  ends,  and  many  other 
little  things,  which  do  not  hinder  the  loom  from  running 


102 


THE  LOOM-FIXERS'  MANUAL. 


well,  nor  the  cloth  from  being  perfect,  but  have  a bad 
look,  and  shows  that  a little  place  somewhere  in  a fixer's 
character  has  been  left  uncultivated. 

In  short,  a loom-fixer  should  possess  a symmetrical 
character,  and  his  qualifications  should  not  fall  short  of 
fitting  him  for  the  trying  position  he  is  to  occupy ; for  of 
all  the  positions  winch  have  fallen  to  the  lot  of  man,  since 
man  has  fallen,  this  is  the  one  which  try  men's  souls. 
******* 

A fixer  should  own  a kit  of  tools,  and  keep  them  in  a 
good  condition.  Says  one  man  on  this  subject: — “Let 
me  see  a fixer  using  a monkey-wrench  with  the  handle 
gone,  and  a screw-driver  with  one  corner  of  the  point 
gone,  and  a split  handle,  and  the  rest  of  his  tools  to  cor- 
respond, and  I know  about  what  condition  his  looms  are 
in.”  A fixer  should  have  three  sizes  of  flat  wrenches, 
two  sizes  of  monkey-wrenches,  two  screw-drivers,  two 
sizes  of  belt  punches,  and  a good  awl : a steel  straight- 
edge, and  small  spirit-level,  a good  pair  of  plyers,  a large 
and  small  hammer,  including  a nicely  tempered  key-set. 
He  may,  of  course  add  such  other  things  as  may  come  in 
handy,  but  these  tools  should  be  of  the  best  quality, 
stamped  with  the  owner's  name,  and  then  used  properly, 
and  well  taken  care  of.  If  a “carpenter  is  known  by  his 
chips,”  a fixer  is  certainly  known  by  his  tools. 


TIIE  END. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


advice:! 

There  are  few  loom-fixers  without  the  aspiration  to 
he  Boss  Weavers  at  least.  Few  who  would  hesitate 
long  enough  if  offered  a shop,  to  make  sure  they  poss- 
essed the  natural  qualification,  without  which  even  the 
best  mechanic  must  fail  if  he  aspires  too  high. 

It  is  more  honorable,  easier  and  in  the  end  more 
profitable,  to  be  a first-class  loom-fixer  than  an  indif- 
ferent Overseer,  Designer  or  Manager.  But  if  you 
are  qualified  to  go  higher,  fit  yourself  thoroughly  and 
go  ; for  the  want  of  really  well  qualified  men  is  greater 
and  greater  the  higher  you  aim. 

How  should  a loom-fixer  fit  himself  for  higher  posi- 
tions? First,  aim  only  to  be  second-hand,  do  not  try 
to  prepare  yourself  for  a Super’s  place  until  you  are  a 
Super’s  assistant,  and  then  as  before  go  slow  and  sure. 
These  smart  people  who  go  up  so  fast  are  seldom  held 
in  their  places  by  their  own  thoroughness.  To  be  up 
with  the  times,  you  must  be  a most  persevering  reader, 
without  a wide  knowledge  of  what  other  men  have 
done  and  can  do,  you  meet  competition  as  a warrior 
meets  an  enemy  whose  power  he  does  not  know. 

Make  sure  that  the  implements  you  employ  are  not 
surpassed  in  efficiency  and  durability,  if  you  would 
stand  at  the  head  of  any  class  of  workmen.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  avoid  a favorable  impression  of 
a man  who  has  the  very  best  implements  available 
for  his  work,  and  knows  how  to  take  care  of  them. 

A.  & A.  F.  SPITZL1,  Troy,  N.  Y., 
the  only  dealers  qualified  and  prepared  to  supply — 
Optical  & Mathematical  Instruments , Technical  and  Scien- 
tific Books  and  Journals , Design  Books , Design  Papers  and 
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adapted  to  the  various  branches  of  the  Textile  Industry. 


OWI.ES.  j L.  J.  KNOWLES  & BROTHER, 

OWLES.  ) 57  Jackson  Street,  WORCESTER,  MASS, 

s/iiiw  x-'ojt,  t;r/t  r;  c,j.siJi. 


-A.  TREATISE  OTT 


Designing  l Weaving  Plain  and  Fancy  Woolen  Cloths. 

This  work  contains  over  100  weaves  of  the  latest  and 
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CHAPTER  I. The  Art  of  Weaving. 

“ II. Taste  in  the  Selection  and  Designing  of  Patterns. 

“ III. The  Arrangement  of  Colors  in  Patterns. 

“ IV. On  “Picking-out  ’ or  Drafting  from  Sample. 

“ V. On  Weaving  Plain  Cloth. 

“ VI. Double  Pick  and  Basket  Weaving. 

“ VII The  Weaving  of  Twills. 

“ VIII. On  the  Weaving  of  Diagonal  Cords. 

“ IX The  Weaving  of  Various  Kinds  of  Ribs. 

“ X Miscellaneous  JT eaves. 

“ XI. Combination  of  Weaves. 

“ XII. Tables  and  Rules. 


By  A.  A.  BALD  Il’/.V.  Designer. 

E=rice  $-4. 

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BRASHER  FALLS,  X.  Y. 


-THE- 


A PRACTICAL  GUIDE  FOR  BEGINNERS. 


It  illustrates  a “Fancy  Pick-out,”  reduced  to  its  lowest 
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THE  FOLLOWING  RULES  ARE  MADE  PLAIN. 

The  Process  of  Pattern-picking.  To  find  the  Number  of 
Threads  in  a Warp.  To  find  the  Quantity  of  Yarn  Required  to 
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By  A.  A.  BALDWIN , Designer. 

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